Halo: The Tide of War
by McFusterCluck
Summary: AU: The UNSC has been able to slow the Covenant advance to a crawl, even being able to strike outer Covenant colonies. But the threat of annihilation still looms. When the Covenant discover Reach, can the much better prepared UNSC hold the planet? What happens after the battle?
1. Chapter 1

**2100 Hours, August 29th, 2552 (Military Calendar)/ UNSC Destroyer _Achilles_/ Near Planet Tribute/ Epsilon Eridani System**

For everyone on the ship, this was just a routine patrol. They'd done it a thousand times, for Pete's sakes.. Nobody knew that this patrol was going to turn out to be much more than just that. Just a few million kilometers away was Reach, the fortress world of humanity, with hundreds of ships guarding it. For him, Captain Jon Graham, being the first ship to encounter the Covenant in Epsilon Eridani was startling, and not something he'd signed up for. However, his job was to protect humanity, and if this was how it was to be done, then so be it.

Jon leaned on the cold brass railing on the bridge of the _Achilles_, surveying his bridge crew. At the weapons station was Lieutenant William Covington, who'd been serving under Jon ever since his first posting on the frigate _Benghazi_. At operations sat Ensign Karen Davidson, a top graduate at Luna Officer Candidate School, and a dear friend. Sitting next to her was Lieutenant Dan Cortez, the ships communications officer, and next to him was the navigations officer, Ensign Max DeSemple. He had served with this bridge crew all together for about a year total, and Covington for about four years.

"You all want some coffee?" asked Jon, turning around.

"Sure, I'm down," Ensign Davidson replied, turning her chair around from her station.

"Alright, I'll call the galley for it," Jon said, sitting down. He pressed a few buttons and said, "Galley, can I get some coffee up here? Yeah, French roast sounds good."

He looked at his crew and said, "Should be up here in a few minutes."

"Thanks, Cap," said Lt. Covington, smiling at his close friend.

"Man, it's been dead fuckin' quiet here. We haven't seen a battle for eight months!" exclaimed Ensign DeSemple.

"Yeah, but you gotta remember how important Reach is. Even though we've been able to slow the Covenant advance, they could jump in at any time," Jon explained.

"Yeah, but how the hell would they find us? The Cole Protocol's been working great ever since it got fixed," asked DeSemple.

"Sure, but the Covenant could always just drop in. The Protocol does have its cracks," said Ensign Davidson.

Jon nodded, and then yawned. The elevator beeped, and the doors hissed open. A sailor in greasy clothes walked in, wheeling in a cart, saying, "Gotcha coffee." Everybody got up from their stations and walked over. They picked up the mugs, and then sat back down after giving the sailor their thanks.

"I like this posting, personally. It's nice knowing that we're safe here," Jon said, kicking up his feet on the railing, pulling his seat closer to it.

"Yeah, I see what you mean, but I'm itching for action," DeSemple exclaimed, taking a slurp of coffee.

"I'd hate to be the poor alien bastard to go up against this baby," said Lieutenant Covington, patting his computer.

The _Achilles_ was a top of the line _Jupiter_-class destroyer, hull number being DD-986. The _Jupiter_-class destroyer was smaller than a cruiser, but it still packed a helluva punch. It had two Magnetic Accelerator Cannons, fifty-two oversized Archer missile pods, sixteen Howler missile pods, and fifteen 50mm railguns. If that didn't seem like overkill, there were also four Mark 2488 _Onager_ Mass Accelerators, just for a bit more punch. In addition to that it had five hundred Marines onboard at any time, a full platoon of ODSTs, a squadron of Longswords, and a normal crew of two thousand. Only three ships were in the class, and all were in Epsilon Eridani.

Ever since the battle of Psi Serpentis in 2543, the UNSC had been able to slow the Covenant advance, but not completely reverse it. Admiral Cole, having survived the battle and came back with the loss of no vessels, began leading raids on outer Covenant worlds, giving people back home hope. In his limited spare time, he went back over his Cole Protocol, and replaced some of its guideline. No longer would a UNSC ship have to purge all of its information. Rather, it would send it via heavily encrypted code to an obscure station, which would then deliver it to either Reach or Earth.

Due to the success of Admiral Cole's strikes on Covenant planets, more people wanted to help with the war effort, and to do that they moved to new planets that were being used for war material. Production stepped up, and soon enough the UNSC was churning out five to ten ships a week. Enlistment doubled when word came that Admiral Stanforth totally annihilated an Elite colony and its supporting fleet that was almost triple the size of his.

But, of course, it wasn't all good for humanity.

The Covenant, who had been so focused on chasing around the human navy, finally discovered that about 90% of humanities Outer Colonies were untouched by the war, and relatively unguarded. So, in an effort to lure out the human fleet, the Covenant began glassing the planets one by one, effectively wiping out billions of humans.

And then their plan worked.

In 2549, one hundred and sixty four human ships, led by Admiral Barry Quiroz, jumped into the Arcadia system to kick the Covenant back from the planet. Over five hundred hostile vessels were waiting for them. Only two human ships came back to New Carthage.

Two weeks after the disaster, the Covenant sent a message to all corners of the galaxy for humanity. It showed the bodies of dead children being feasted on by Grunts and Brutes, while the Elites looked on. The message also showed that of a Brute chieftain bringing down its mighty gravity hammer onto a crying baby. Many more atrocities were shown.

"Hey, Cap, remember that one Covenant world we hit?" asked Lt. Cortez.

Jon came to and said, "The big colony? Yeah, I remember."

"Fuckin' bloodbath for the Covies. They had it comin' though," Cortez said back.

"Which one are we talking about here?" asked Ensign Davidson.

Lt. Cortez faced her and said, "The one we hit after they sent us that… that fucking message. It was the one where we jumped in and just destroyed the surface with our MAC guns and nukes. Hopefully killed every one of those heartless monsters."

Ensign Davidson opened her eyes wide, and said, "I felt so bad after doing that."

Jon said, "Water under the bridge."

"Mmm… this is good," Lt. Covington said, pointing at his coffee after taking a drink.

Everyone looked at the Lieutenant, who shrugged and said, "I could feel the tension in here. Sorry."

Everyone slowly turned back to their stations, when suddenly a screeching sound blared, and a red light switched on.

"What the hell?!" Ensign Davidson yelled, spinning around in her chair to look at her computer. She tapped a few buttons, and stared into the screen.

"Report?!" yelled Jon.

The woman made a knocking noise with her tongue, and said, "Looks like something really small's popping in. Probably a fighter."

Jon rose, and said, "All hands to battlestations. Covington, get the Archers ready and charge the MAC gun. Davidson, get all fighter crews to their craft and send them out. Lieutenant Cortez, get FLEETCOM on the line, tell them that we've made contact with the Covenant."

"Aye, sir!" came the response from everyone.

"Oh, DeSemple?" asked Jon.

"Yes, sir?" asked the younger man, turning to face his captain.

"Position the ship to face the enemy head on," ordered Jon.

DeSemple saluted, and carried on.

The ship started to rumble, and then turn slowly. Soon, it had stopped moving entirely, and Covington called out, "MAC is fully charged!"

Just then, a small blue hole opened in front of the _Achilles_, and a small teardrop shaped vessel popped in ahead of the massive destroyer. It saw the vessel, and then started turning.

"Archers have a lock, sir!" cried Covington.

"Do it!"

Multiple loud hissing noises emitted from the sides of the ship, and small missiles flew out, followed the fighter.

"Sir, it's a Seraph. The Covenant are here," said Davidson.

Jon simply nodded.

Then, the Seraph erupted in a ball of flame. The bridge crew let out a loud cheer, but exchanged high fives and pats on the back. Then they realized what had happened.

"Well, this is it," said Covington, sighing.

"What? What?! We just beat them!" exclaimed DeSemple, laughing.

"Don't you understand?! The Covenant have found Reach! That means that… wait a sec… oh no… another ship coming in. Looks like a frigate," said Davidson, looking at her screen.

"Alright. Hold it together, everyone," said Jon, turning to face out the viewport.

A large blue hole ripped open, and in popped a sleek purple Covenant frigate, slightly smaller than the _Achilles_. It fired two point lasers, burning into the three meters of Titanium-A battleplate.

The ship shook violently, and started accelerating.

"Damage report!" bellowed Captain Graham, rocking in his chair.

Davidson looked at her screen frantically, and shouted, "Deck 15-18 are breached, fires breaking out. I'm gonna vent atmosphere."

"Covington, is the MAC ready?!" called Jon.

"Yes sir!"

"Fire!"

The lights on the bridge dimmed, and then a red hot slug powered out of the destroyer, quickly followed by another one. The two rounds hurtled through space at thirty thousand meters per second. The two impacted straight into the frigate, and tore off the entire rear. The ship began spinning, and then launched two deadly plasma torpedoes.

"Evasive maneuvers!" cried Jon, leaping up and grabbing the railing.

"But sir, there's no way we avoid that!" panted DeSemple, tapping his screen.

Jon pointed at the frigate, which was still in a small spin, and yelled, "Full speed, over the torpedoes and straight at that frigate!"

"What you're proposing is suicide!" shouted DeSemple.

"Not doing anything is suicide! Do it!"

The _Achilles_' engines roared to life, and made an immediate port side turn, gaining speed rapidly. The torpedoes followed. Then, the human ship turned and made straight for the spinning alien vessel, on a collision course. At the last second, it pulled up, and the torpedoes, not being able to correct their course, slammed into the Covenant vessel, ripping it to shreds.

The crew remained silent this time.

Finally, Jon said, "Who's next?"

Ensign Davidson shook her head and said, "No more contacts, sir. We should probably go back to Reach, sir."

Jon nodded, and said, "Ensign DeSemple, get us to the _September Rain_."

"Aye aye," said the ensign, tapping on his computer screen.

The _Achilles_ turned around and began speeding towards the human fortress world, ships coming into view as they got closer. The UNSC _Invincible_, the flagship of the Epsilon Eridani Defense Fleet, hung over a cluster of smaller vessels. She was armed with two regular MAC guns and then a Super-MAC gun, with hundreds of smaller guns and cannons along the sides. The _Invincible_ was the lead ship in a class of five dreadnoughts, only four of which having been built. All around Reach were dozens of cruisers, and hundreds of other ships.

Then the _Achilles_' destination came into view, on the other side of Reach. The _September Rain_ was a massive space station, with enough docks to hold up to six capital ships and about ten smaller vessels. The _Achilles_ pulled into one of the open ports, and clamps held onto the ship, locking it into place.

Jon buried his face into his hands, knowing what was going to happen.

…

UNITED NATIONS SPACE COMMAND PRIORITY TRANSMISSION

ENCRYPTION CODE: DELTA

FROM: MERLIN

TO: KING ARTHUR

DATE: AUGUST 30th, 2552

SUBJECT: Winter Contingency

CLASSIFICATION: EYES ONLY, RECIPIENT

[START]

Fleet Admiral Terrance Hood,

At 21:06 hours on August 29th, the UNSC _ACHILLES _(DD-986) was on a routine patrol near the planet Tribute when it came into contact with a single Covenant Type-31 Exoatmospheric Multirole 'Seraph' Fighter . The _ACHILLES_ destroyed the 'Seraph' without any casualties. Only moments later, a CFV-class Covenant frigate came into system via slipstream. The _ACHILLES_ engaged, and destroyed the frigate with few casualties. Just before destruction, the frigate sent a line of communication, and ONI was able to decrypt part of the message onboard UNSC _SEPTEMBER RAIN _(SSD-4) with Translation Program ALPHA THREE NINE TWO TWELVE and it says:

[The heretics are here, may we burn them into glass with the wrath of the gods.]

After this, there were many unintelligible characters, which our experts believe are numbers, and more specifically, the location of Reach. As of 0200 on August 30th, 2552, I am declaring WINTER CONTINGENCY for the Epsilon Eridani system. All forces are rallied and all deployed assets are being recalled. All six Hrunting/YGGDRASIL Mark I Exoskeleton Assault Brigades have been deployed to hold key areas. NOBLE Team has been deployed on my personal orders to protect Dr. Catherine Halsey's subterranean lab from any potential attack.

The UNSC _INVINCIBLE_ (DN-01) is currently the flagship of all assembled fleets above Reach. Currently, the Epsilon Eridani Defense Fleet, 7th Fleet, 19th Fleet, and 4th Carrier Task Force are in holding patterns above Reach. All carriers have been diverted with evacuating all other planets in system other than Reach and Tribute. The UNSC _TRAFALGAR_ (SCV-16) is expected to arrive within the next four to six hours along with the 74th Carrier Strike Fleet.

Currently, we are trying to evacuate Reach, but do not have enough ships to get everyone out. All refugees are currently being sent to the Sanctuary system.

If the _INFINITY _is completed, we could use her extra firepower.

Please respond soon, Fleet Admiral. Reach will be under siege soon.

/END/

…

UNITED NATIONS SPACE COMMAND PRIORITY TRANSMISSION

ENCRYPTION CODE: DELTA

FROM: KING ARTHUR

TO: MERLIN

DATE: AUGUST 30th, 2552

SUBJECT: Re: Winter Contingency

CLASSIFICATION: EYES ONLY, RECIPIENT

[START]

Vice Admiral Danforth Whitcomb,

Reach cannot and will not fall. I have called back Admiral Stanforth and his fleet from a raid on a Covenant planet, expect them by the time you read this. Within his fleet is the is the UNSC _PILLAR OF AUTUMN _(C-709), containing the SPARTANs needed for OPERATION: RED FLAG. I am also shipping two more brigades of Hrunting/YGGDRASIL Mark I Exoskeletons your way, expect them within six hours.

As for your evacuations, I am sending you forty-six _LIFE_-class transports for use, being escorted by the frigates UNSC _FORWARD UNTO DAWN _(FFG-201) and UNSC _IN AMBER CLAD _(FFG-142). Get the cities first, they are our top priority. All spare vessels will be sent to Sanctuary to make sure the refugees make it safe. Don't worry about Sol, Danforth, the Big Sticks are ready and the Home Fleet is rallied.

As per UNSC Emergency Directive B-37940 you are authorized to use TACTICAL NUCLEAR BOMBARDMENT on any areas fallen into Covenant hands. NAPALM is also authorized on any and all Covenant ground forces as per Directive X-24769.

Please minimize civilian casualties.

Best of luck.

/END/


	2. Chapter 2

**0300 Hours, August 30th, 2552 (Military Calendar)/ New Alexandria/ Planet Reach/ Epsilon Eridani System**

Knock knock knock.

Peter Haroldson opened his eyes and rolled over slowly with the movement of a slug. He saw that his television was turned off, and the remote was on the floor next to him. He sat up, rubbing his eyes. Peter looked at the clock. 3:00 A.M., and someone was at the door. _Who could it be?_ though Peter, as he swung his legs over the couch and sat quietly for a second. Three more knocks came at the door.

Peter walked slowly to the door and looked through the peephole. A fully armed UNSC soldier stood outside, carrying an MA5B assault rifle.

"Who is it?" asked Peter groggily.

"UNSC Army, sir. It's urgent," said the soldier.

Peter opened the door, and said, "What is it?"

"Winter Contingency has been declared for this star system, sir. All civilians are to be evacuated via the spaceport. This building will be one of the first evacuated," said the soldier. Then, two more appeared, Peter's neighbors following them.

"Alright, give me a few minutes," Peter said, closing the door.

Peter was shocked. The Covenant were here, at Reach. The seriousness of the situation sunk in, and he nearly collapsed. He staggered to his daughters room, and shook her, saying, "Andrea? Please wake up."

His six year old daughter stretched, and said, "What is it, daddy?"

"Honey, you need to pack your clothes, we're going on a... trip," Peter said, standing over her.

"Why now? What time is it?" she asked.

"It's really early, but we've got to go," said Peter.

"Can I bring Rusty?" his young daughter asked.

"Yes, sweetie. Only one bag of clothes, though!"

"Okay!" she yelled.

Peter laughed, and left to go to his room. He opened his safe, and pulled out a small black case. He unhinged the latches on it, and opened the small box, revealing a silver M6D Magnum. He pulled it out, and slid a magazine into place, clicking shut. He cocked it, and stuck it in a holster on his belt.

"Thanks, Tami," he whispered, referring to his wife who was killed in the battle of Draco III.

He went back out into the living room to find his daughter sitting on the couch, holding a small dog in a handheld cage. A pink backpack was on her back, and she smiled at Peter as he came into the room.

"Ready, Daddy?" she beamed.

"Yes, sweetie. Come on, follow me," Peter said, ushering her to the door.

They went out into the hall, where the soldier was leaning against the wall. He got on his feet, and said, "Okay, let's go."

Peter locked the apartment door and went down the hall with Andrea and the soldier to the elevator along the side of the building.

Rusty began barking, and the soldier said for Peter to shut it up.

Being a vet, Peter had sleeping pills, so he crushed one quickly and sprinkled it over a dog treat. Giving it to the small dog, it was soon fast asleep.

As the elevator went down the side of the tower, it started rattling, and a high pitched whining sound was heard from outside. Suddenly, a UNSC frigate descended from the night sky above the city, weaving between two skyscrapers. A squadron of Sparrowhawks whizzed by, followed by two Pelicans. Below, on the highly lit streets, a column of six M808 Scorpion tanks rolled by, escorting three M9 Wolverine Anti-air tanks. _Jesus, this must be really bad if they're rolling out everything this fast._

When they got outside, they witnessed hundreds of people in the streets, being directed to the spaceport by army troopers. Above, the frigate was joined by two _Hammerhead_-class corvettes, hovering over the city. The army trooper escorting Andrea and Peter led them to a Cougar infantry fighting vehicle.

It took very little time to reach the spaceport. Peter showed them their papers and handed over his pistol to be put in the armory. The trooper led them to their ship, the _L__SS Star Prince_, an old luxury liner converted into an evacuation transport. The trooper nodded the two onto the ship, and then left. Andrea spotted a window seat, and immediately sat in it, Peter sitting next to her. He put their things in the overhead bin, and handed the knocked out Rusty to Andrea. Peter poked his head up and saw that the entire ship was packed with people, some even sitting on the ground._  
_

"_Attention all passengers, we will be undergoing a quick security sweep to check for any tracking devices or explosives. Please stay seated," _a voice, the ships A.I., said over the intercom.

The whole ship rumbled and a thin wall of blue lines went through the entire length of the ship. Peter looked out of the window with his daughter, as two more _Paris_-class frigates descended above the city, sitting over the New Alexandria skyscrapers. All around the _Star Prince_, other transports took off, escorted by two Gladius fighters each.

"_Sweep complete, prepare for takeoff,_" the A.I. finally said.

All of the passengers were pressed back against their seat as the ship began to lift off, the g-forces holding them back. The _Star Prince_ passed the frigates as its escorts joined, two Gladius fighters. Along with the dozens of other evacuation transports, the _Star Prince_ went through the assembling UNSC fleet, which blotted out the sun depending on the angle. Hundred of ships, ranging from tiny _Hammerhead_ or _Mako_-class corvettes to the three and a half kilometer long UNSC _Invincible_. The massive dreadnought sat in the middle of the human fleet, its large Super-MAC gun sticking out of the front. Hundreds of guns ran along the sides. Andrea and Peter held their breaths at the sight.

Peter remembered the first time he saw the UNSC fleet. It was over Ariel, just two years ago. Over fifty ships were there, engaging a much smaller Covenant fleet. Peter was there on vacation, when Winter Contingency was declared there too. Andrea was at Reach with her grandparents at the time. Thank god she wouldn't see this.

"_Entering Slipspace in three, two, one,_" the _Star Prince_'s A.I. said.

The ships engines got louder and popped into the large blue Slipspace portal directly off her bow.

Peter leaned back in his chair and smiled. They were safe.


	3. Chapter 3

**0330 Hours, August 30th, 2552 (Military Calendar)/ UNSC Destroyer _Achilles_****, Over Planet Reach/ Epsilon Eridani System**

Jon stood over the large hologram of Reach in the middle of the bridge, watching hundreds of small green arrows maneuver around it. Scattered about the planet were twenty Orbital Defense Platform's, armed with a single Mark V Magnetic Accelerator Cannon, or Super MAC. Just one round could shatter a Covenant capital ship. Of course, the Covenant had made shielding on some of their ships better, and could withstand a direct Super MAC hit. Most of the human ships were concentrated around Rally Point Zulu. At the center of the fleet was the _Invincible_, the gargantuan flagship of the UNSC fleet. Forty cruisers were in the fleet, mostly _Marathon_-class. Hundreds of destroyers and frigates were in the fleet too, along with around nineteen carriers, located towards the back of the fleet.

Jon eased into his chair, staring out into the black.

High above the fleet were three old repair and refit stations, to be used as sacrificial shields for the Covenant's opening salvo.

"Everyone ready?" asked Covington, looking at his screen.

Many _mhm_'s came from all souls on the bridge.

"Sir," said Lt. Cortez.

"What is it, Lieutenant?" asked Jon, still staring into space.

"Vice Admiral Whitcomb is opening up a comm channel with the entire fleet," Lt. Cortez replied.

"Bring it up," said Jon, looking up to face the screen above the railing and his chair.

Vice Admiral Whitcomb had a closely shaven head, and a salt and pepper mustache that went over his upper lip and started to droop down along the corners of his mouth. He was easily in his mid-sixties or early-seventies, and had a stern look on his face.

"_Invincible Actual to all UNSC ships, multiple Slipspace ruptures detected on the far side of Epsilon Eridani. It's the Covenant. All ships are to go to full battlestations and move into attack pattern Asgard. Wait for my mark. Invincible out."_

Jon swiveled around in his chair and said, "You heard the admiral! Let's get this tin can into formation! Covington, charge the MAC gun."

"Aye aye," said the two officers he was referring to.

"You think we'll make it, right sir?" asked DeSemple.

"I know we'll make it, Ensign."

The _Achilles_ moved forward, moving into a tight formation of UNSC ships. In front of the _Achilles_' firing line, the third one, were twenty cruisers, over a kilometer long. Directly in front of them were over a hundred frigates. In the _Achilles_' line was an assortment of destroyers, frigates, and cruisers. Still in the center of the fleet was the _Invincible_, its large bow having a straight firing line into the approaching Covenant. The _Trafalgar_, the pride of the fleet, was above the rest of the fleet, but on its side to bring most of its guns to bear. Four hundred and twelve vessels were in orbit of Reach.

"_All ships, we are looking at over eight hundred ships coming in through Slipspace," _said Admiral Whitcomb.

"Eight hundred..?" Ensign DeSemple whimpered.

"Perk up, everyone. Wait for the order to fire," Jon said.

Then, about three million kilometers away from the fleet, a massive hole tore in space, and hundreds upon hundreds of sleek purple ships slipped in. Many were large CCS-class battlecruisers or CAS-class assault carriers. Many others were smaller vessels, like DPV-class destroyers or CFV-class frigates, like the one the _Achilles_ encountered hours prior.

"_Attack line Catapult, fire!"_ shouted the admiral.

Behind the assembled UNSC fleet, all twenty 'Big Sticks' opened up, slinging a 3,000 ton ferric-tungsten round at 4% the speed of light into the oncoming Covenant armada. Just then, the big gun from the _Invincible_ fired, shaking the ships around it and pushing the massive dreadnought back slightly. Nineteen battlecruisers and two carriers erupted into flames and then died.

"_Line Pikemen, open up when in range!"_ the admiral said.

The Covenant fleet advanced, and when it got within two and a half million kilometers, every single ship in the first line fired their smaller MAC guns. Over one hundred frigates fired two rounds each, and when it was over, sixteen Covenant ships were destroyed.

Then, the Covenant fleet launched a large spread of their plasma torpedoes.

The three repair stations lurched forward, maneuvering in front of the UNSC fleet. The torpedoes closed in, and the stations did not move one inch. Over one thousand of the blue bolts ripped into the titanium armor of the stations, literally melting them away. When they were gone, Admiral Whitcomb shouted, "_All callsigns, fire at will!_"

Hundreds of flashes lit up the skies above Reach. Missiles left their pods, and hundreds of MAC rounds surged out of their barrels and into the Covenant armada. The twenty orbital guns fired, ripping into twenty alien capital ships, blowing them apart. The ship-based weaponry did its toll, too, taking down about sixty vessels total.

Then, the Covenant fleet fired once more.

"_All ships, break formation and engage at will__!_" shouted Whitcomb.

Immediately, the UNSC fleet split, and moved quickly, trying to evade the plasma torpedoes.

"DeSemple, drop us below the fleet at full speed!" yelled Jon, gripping the sides of his chair.

"Roger," DeSemple said.

The _Achilles_ lurched forward, and began steaming downwards at about a 50 degree angle at full speed.

"Bring us up when we've got a clear line of sight on any Covenant ships," Jon ordered.

The destroyer kept descending, until it finally started to lean back, making its rear face the south pole of Reach. A Covenant CRS-class light cruiser screamed over it, firing its torpedoes.

"MAC ready!"

"Send the bastards to hell, Lieutenant. Fire," said Jon.

Two bolts flew out of the _Achilles, _tearing through the underbelly of the cruiser. It exploded from the inside out.

By then, the Covenant torpedoes impacted on the human ships, melting away four cruisers, twenty five frigates, seven destroyers, and three corvettes. The UNSC _Cowpens_, a carrier in the thick of the human fleet, took forty two torpedoes to the engines and starboard side, sending it into a spin. The carrier slammed into three frigates and a destroyer, blowing them all up in the ensuing explosion. The cruiser _Beacon of Hope_, a _Marathon_-class cruiser that was one of the more recently constructed ones, fired its main MAC gun right as the heavy destroyer _Basra_ flew in front of it, chasing down a fast moving Covenant frigate. The destroyer split in half, and all three Shiva nuclear weapons inside it detonated, catching six UNSC ships in the ball of fire.

Jon watched the whole thing unfold, sweat dripping down his face.

"Sir? Orders?" asked Ensign Davidson.

"Uhh... yeah... get this tin can moving! Ummm... straight up the side!" Jon ordered, coming out of his trance.

The destroyer went forward, towards the Covenant fleet.

"Fire at will, Covington," Jon said.

"I wasn't gonna ask, sir," the weapons officer said.

Jon chuckled.

The two opposing fleets were closing in on each other, and it was apparent that neither side was planning on backing down. The _Invincible_, with its huge Super MAC gun and two smaller guns, destroyed two Covenant destroyers in a single volley, followed by four CRS-class light cruisers with its remaining armament. The _Achilles_, firing at will, ripped apart four Covenant corvettes, and two frigates before turning back for the UNSC fleet.

"_All ships, regroup into loose formation_," the admiral said.

"_With respect sir, wouldn't that make us sitting ducks?_" another captain asked.

"_Unh-uh. I have a little surprise for the Covenant, courtesy of ONI_," said Admiral Whitcomb slyly.

The Covenant picked off more human ships as they reassembled, bringing all their guns to bear once more.

"_Hold onto your hats, boys. Initiate Independence Day,_" Whitcomb said.

Suddenly, the entire front half of the Covenant fleet was engulfed in a bright blue light. Twenty HORNET nuclear mines erupted amid the alien fleet, disintegrating over two hundred ships in a flash. The remaining Covenant vessels kept approaching, under heavy fire from the UNSC. The _Invincible_, along with the ODPs and cruisers, brought down more of the damned enemy. So far, we had lost one hundred and sixty nine ships, and the Covenant lost three hundred and two. If this kept going this way, it would be a decisive victory for the UNSC.

"_All ships, break and regroup around Turul. All fighter squadrons, you have a green light! Carriers, drop into atmosphere above Viery. Trafalgar, light them up."_

The eighteen remaining carriers in the UNSC fleet lay down all of their mines in their spots before beginning their descent into the atmosphere of Reach. Hundreds of Longsword fighters soared out of their hangar bays, rushing into battle against the Covenant Seraph's. The result was an absolute bloodbath. The Longsword's 110mm rotary cannons ripped apart the Covenant fighters while the Seraph's vaporized Longsword's with their plasma cannons.

By then, the remaining UNSC ships, about two hundred and forty of them, veered away from the battle and sped towards the closest moon of Reach, Turul. The _Achilles_ fired off two quick shots, stripping the shields off of a Covenant destroyer, before the _Invincible_ finished it off with a Super MAC round.

The _Trafalgar_ then opened fire, filling space with thousands of 50mm rounds and Onager bolts. The Covenant fought back, unloading dozens of plasma torpedoes into the supercarrier. The plasma peeled away at the six meter thick Titanium-A armor, fire taking over. The pride of the UNSC Navy then turned to join the other carriers in atmosphere, limping away slowly.

"_All __orbital guns, protect the Trafalgar!"_ Whitcomb barked._  
_

The platforms started to turn, firing at the Covenant ships closing distance on the _Trafalgar_.

All but one of the pursuing ships were blown up.

"Sir, that Covenant ship chasing _Trafalgar _is opening a link with the whole fleet!" Lt. Cortez yelled.

"Bring it up. Load up the rear camera while you're at it," Jon said.

On the screen of every ship in the fleet, a white Elite stood in front of the camera, and he yelled, "_For the Great Journey!"_ The line went dead.

Suddenly the lone ship crashed into the _Trafalgar _as it went into atmosphere, enveloping the supercarrier in flame. When the light cleared, the burning remains of the _Trafalgar _floated back into space, its skeleton all that was left.

"_Oh my god... Trafalgar is down! I repeat, Trafalgar is down!"_ cried someone from one of the platforms._  
_

"_Damn the regroup! All ships, get behind the Invincible!"_ shouted Whitcomb.

The UNSC fleet assembled behind the dreadnaught, as it fired five small projectiles at the Covenant fleet.

"_Eat Shiva, you sons of bitches."_

Just before the bombs went off, most of the Covenant fleet shimmered away into Slipstream, leaving about one hundred ships behind.

The entire remaining Covenant fleet disappeared. No Slipspace jump, nothing. The nukes so powerful that it literally made the alien ships vanish.

Just as the UNSC fleet began celebrating, fifty more Slipspace ruptures were detected. As the UNSC began to go on alert again, four UNSC frigates popped into view about a million kilometers ahead of the _Invincible_.

"_This is Commander Miranda Keyes, of the UNSC In Amber Clad. Who wants some transport?"_ a female said over the radio.

"_This is the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn, with the Aegis Fate and Stalwart Dawn, we have forty six evacuation transports with us, where do we go?" _another person said.

Then Admiral Whitcomb said, _"Lord Hood said only the In Amber Clad and Forward Unto Dawn would be arriving. Why are you other two here?"_

_"Admiral changed his mind, I guess,_" the captain of the _Stalwart Dawn_ said, as the fifty ships passed by the UNSC fleet and into atmosphere.

"_Get the cities first, transport captains,"_ Whitcomb said.

Jon slouched back in his chair, exhausted. He closed his eyes, and remembered to back when he was a little boy on Skopje, before the war. Then, he was on the _Heracles_, in 2525 as a thirteen year old space cadet. It was there that he watched his father die. It was there that the war began. It was here that the war continued. Jon couldn't believe that they'd won. Over half of the human fleet was destroyed, but the Covenant had retreated.

"Sir, contact from New Alexandria. Fleet wide," said Lt. Cortez.

"Bring it up on comm," Jon said.

The comm speakers blared to life, and all of a sudden screaming came through, quickly overshadowed by the loud bangs of artillery and grenades. Someone yelled, "_The Covenant are on Reach! There... thousands... my men are being slaughtered! They got little Grunts, Elites, even them hairy fuckers! Valez, get down! Shit! I count... sixteen corvettes over the city! All of our frigates are gone!"__  
_

"Sir, there's a video feed coming in," Cortez said, amid the message.

The screen came on, and the dirty face of a UNSC Army trooper stood in front of the camera, panting. All around him, men were hit and fell to the ground. A plasma grenade sailed past the trooper, sticking to the wall. When it went off, the trooper flew forward, landing on his back. He got up, and shouted, "_We need reinforcements! I repeat, we need rein... oh my god! Everyone focus fire on that thing!"_

The camera panned ahead of the soldiers, who were on a small balcony above a courtyard. A single stairway was in front of them, but it was barricaded by assorted items. Thundering up the stairs, however, was an angry Brute chieftain, wielding a gravity hammer. It smashed through the barricades like nothing, and slammed its hammer into the closest human. Bullets ripped into its armor, doing nothing. It let out a wild laugh, followed by a roar. It killed four more soldiers, and closed in on the others, who were bunching up against the wall.

Before it could kill them, a single Pelican dropship flew over, and two tall green figures jumped out and landed by the chieftain. They were a little bit shorter than it, but they looked about the same strength.

"_Hey, ugly_," said one of the figures.

The Brute turned its head, and roared, charging it. Then, the two twirled around the ape-like creature, placing their handguns against its head. They fired, blowing the Brutes brains out.

The two faced the human soldiers. Jon could barely make out the writing on their armor. The slightly taller one had _029_ on its breastplate, and the other one had _093_ on its.

"Holy shit, are those Spartans?!" exclaimed Lieutenant Covington.

...

UNITED NATIONS SPACE COMMAND PRIORITY TRANSMISSION

ENCRYPTION CODE: DELTA

FROM: MERLIN

TO: KING ARTHUR

DATE: AUGUST 30th, 2552

SUBJECT: Reinforcements

CLASSIFICATION: EYES ONLY, RECIPIENT

[START]

Fleet Admiral Terrance Hood,

I can't believe it, but Reach is still held. 423 Covenant ships destroyed, 170 of ours destroyed. _Trafalgar _is lost with all hands. Many cruisers are destroyed. Covenant have made landfall, and are rapidly gaining ground in cities. I am not going to use tactical nuclear weapons with all the civilians still down there. Only about 30% of the planet has been evacuated so far, and we are losing civilians to the Covenant ground forces.

However, Captain Jacob Keyes has deployed two SPARTANs to the ground on New Alexandria, and the rest are waiting for deployment.

I am requesting for all available units to be sent to Reach. We need more heavy capital ships. I request that the _UNSC INFINITY_ be deployed as well.

OPERATION: RED FLAG has a green light, and we'll try to disable a Covenant ship for the SPARTANs.

Casualty reports are in the attached file.

Send as much backup as you can.

[END]

...

UNITED NATIONS SPACE COMMAND PRIORITY TRANSMISSION

ENCRYPTION CODE: DELTA

FROM: KING ARTHUR

TO: MERLIN

DATE: AUGUST 30th, 2552

SUBJECT: Re: Reinforcements

CLASSIFICATION: EYES ONLY, RECIPIENT

[START]

Vice Admiral Whitcomb,

The 1st and 5th fleets are being redirected from the Serpent Sector immediately; with them are thirty cruisers and ten more carriers; do with them what you please. More evacuation transports are being cranked out daily and are being sent directly from the shipyards to Reach. The first group of three will consist of thirty _LIFE_-class transports, escorted by a single _Paris_-class frigate. The following groups will arrive in the coming days.

The UNSC _Infinity_ is tied down with fighting in the Han system against Insurrectionists, but will be deployed when the threat is neutralized.

Also, there is a special surprise with the 5th Fleet; you'll see what I mean by the time you see this message.

I am pleased that the SPARTANs have been deployed on the ground due to the probable morale boost.

It does sadden me that the _Trafalgar_ has been destroyed, but at least they went out with a bang.

Keep holding on, Danforth. Help is coming.

[END]


	4. Chapter 4

**0545 Hours, August 30th, 2552 (Military Calendar)/ UNSC Frigate _In Amber Clad_****, Over Planet Reach/ Epsilon Eridani System**

Staff Sergeant Scott Williams kicked up his feet, resting them on the cold metal bar at the end of the rack. Above him, the mattress belonging to Private Jimmy Nichols squeaked as he turned over. Scott buried the back of his head into his pillow, holding up a data pad. To his right, on the other bunk, Corporal Eddie Jones and Lance Corporal Jessica Staples sat next to each other, talking. Fraternization was strictly against military code, but this was something only uptight commanders actually went after. Lieutenant Robert Murphy, the platoons commander, was really relaxed, but when it came to combat, he was strictly business. It was pretty clear that Eddie and Jessica were together though.

This platoon of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers had been together for six years, and had not lost a single man to combat. So far, they had seen sixteen battles on land, and two space battles. Even with all that, they hadn't lost anyone. For their renown and skill during battle, this platoon went from 2nd Platoon to Omega Platoon, an official name and nickname. Omega was one of the few officially named platoons in the ODST battalion.

Scott crinkled his nose, and sat up, setting down the data pad. The room was really dark, the only light being that from the other troopers data pads or the light coming in from the small viewports against the wall. Clearly most of the platoon was sleeping, and were really enjoying it.

Scott swung his legs over the bed and sat on the edge, rubbing his eyes.

He looked up at Eddie and Jessica and asked, "I'm heading to the galley. You two want anything?"

Eddie said, "I'm good. What about you, Jess?"

"Oh, I'll have the usual. Thanks, Sarge," the slim blonde said softly.

Most of the troopers in Omega Platoon looked like kids, but in combat they were as ferocious than a Brute pack.

Scott walked through the long barracks and cracked open the door, trying to not let a lot of light inside. He slipped into the bright hallway, shuffling quietly along, trying not to bother anyone. He walked down to a pair of doors, that slithered open. Scott stepped into the empty galley, with only four people inside, not counting the cooks. Sitting at a table by himself was Sergeant Gary Woods, a short dark haired man that had been transferred into Omega about four years prior.

Scott walked up to the line and said to the main cook, "Can I get two glazed doughnuts, and a cup of coffee, please?"

"Sure, Staff Sergeant. Take a seat, we'll bring it to ya," the cook said.

"Thanks," the trooper replied, turning around.

He walked over to Sergeant Woods, and sat down across from him.

"How are you, Gary?" asked Scott.

"I'm fine. This whole battle thing's really shaking me up," Gary said.

Scott looked around and leaned in closer, "Did your family make it out?"

Gary nodded, and said, "They were some of the first out of Quezon. The war came soon after."

Scott put his hand on Gary's shoulder, and said, "At least they made it. Sanctuary is safe."

"But what about the others? What about the ones who didn't make it?"

The Staff Sergeant sat silent. The main cook strode up to Scott and set down two doughnuts wrapped up and a cup of coffee. He then turned and left.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Gary said.

"Would you rather they be killed?"

Gary opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it.

"Sorry, Williams. I... I dunno what's happening," Gary said, looking down.

"Hey, this could have gone worse. Could you imagine what would've happened if we had only like a hundred and fifty ships?" laughed Scott, taking a slurp of coffee.

Gary nodded at the doughnuts, and said, "Those for Jess?"

"Yup, her usual," Scott said.

"Alright, I'm gonna head to the Bay, hang out there. You get back to the barracks," Gary said, getting up.

"See you later, Sergeant Woods," replied Scott.

The two went their separate ways.

Scott came back to the barracks, handed Lance Corporal Staples her doughnuts, and plopped back down on the bed. The second his head hit the pillow an alarm started screeching and a red light lit up the room. Private Nichols jumped down from his bunk, wide awake. Everyone in the barracks snapped awake, and started to congregate in the middle of the room.

"_Companies__ Alpha through Delta__, report to the main hangar bay. ODST platoon Omega, get to your pods,_" the familiar voice of Miranda Keyes said over the intercom.

Lieutenant Murphy shouted, "You heard the lady! Get to the Bay and load up!"

"Fuck, and I just got started on these!" Jessica sighed, looking at her snack.

"Just bring them with you," Eddie said.

"I can't do that! We're going into battle, for Christ's sake!"

Eddie rolled his eyes.

Within two minutes, the troopers were in the drop pod bay, a sleek dark corridor that had a wide part in the middle for a tactical map. The troopers suited up in their battle armor and congregated around the map.

A hologram of New Alexandria came up, and it showed a formation of Covenant ships swarming over the skyscrapers, firing into the streets below. On the ground, hundreds of green arrows moved around, and some disappeared. Everywhere, however, were red arrows, engaging the green. Every few seconds an evacuation transport would launch, under heavy fire.

"_Troopers, this is Colonel Richardson, 111th Infantry. New Alexandria has been under siege since the Covenant retreated in space, and they have serious backup. Sixteen corvettes are over the city, hitting us hard and dropping off fresh troops by the minute. All of our frigates that we had earlier left to join the space battle, and haven't come back. But now, we can take back the city hopefully, with the help of your ships. I hear that your platoon is one of the best, am I right, Lieutenant?_" the comm flared to life.

"Yes, sir," Lieutenant Murphy replied, staring at the map.

"_Good, very good. Now, those Spartans that came in are helping, but there are only two of them, and New Alexandria's a big city. So, I'm going to have you drop in here," _Colonel Richardson said.

The map zoomed in on a large plaza, filled with hundreds of arrows. It was then that the troopers realized that when the map was zoomed out, the arrows represented squads, platoons, or companies, but when zoomed in they showed individual soldiers. In this plaza, the green arrows were disappearing fast, while the red gained ground. Two Warthogs rolled up, but were quickly blown up by plasma grenades.

_"This plaza is vital to capturing the city center. If we lose this plaza, the Sinoviet Tower will fall, and then the ONI Headquarters too. Drop in there, and take it back. Richardson, out."_

Murphy sighed, and yelled, "You heard him! Grab your weapons and get set for a combat drop!"

"Yes, sir!"

Scott grabbed an MA5C assault rifle and jumped into his pod. Private Nichols sat in the pod next to his.

When the ODSTs were all in their pods, the doors slid shut, and the pods were pulled back. The bay doors opened, revealing the planet below them. The small screen in the pod came on, and Lt. Murphy's helmet came into view, looking around.

"_Alright, airspace is clear. Dropping in ten seconds. Troopers, we are green and very, very mean!"_

Three beeps came in and then all of the troopers pods shot down from the frigate, rapidly going into Reach's atmosphere. They passed by the remains of a UNSC corvette, and went into the clouds. Scott looked down, and saw the lights of New Alexandria approaching.

"_Woah, daddy. We were about to all land on a rooftop. Adjusting our course,"_ Murphy said.

"_Great going, LT_," Private First Class Michael Roosevelt joked.

"_Cut the chatter, troopers,"_ Lieutenant Murphy replied.

The Helljumpers rocketed past the Covenant corvettes, and then past the Sinoviet center.

"_Shit, the grounds getting closer!_" cried Corporal Douglas McCormick.

"Oh, shut it, Doug!" Scott barked.

"_Pop your chutes!_"

The pods immediately slowed down as their metal parachutes popped open. They arced towards the plaza below, and the pods began shaking.

"_Here we go boys!_" shouted Private Kyle Marsh with glee.

Scott's pod then stopped, and a loud shrill siren came on. His visor went black, covering his eyes, and the door jettisoned off. He snatched his assault rifle and barged out into the battlefield, looking for a target. All around him, pods slammed into the ground, and platoon members ran out, firing their weapons. Scott spotted a blue Elite leading a group of Grunts and started firing. The bullets hit the alien's shields and the Elite quickly dove behind a small cement block with plants in it. Scott took cover behind a bench, and reached for a frag grenade. He set it to his right, and poked his head over the top of it. A dozen Grunts advanced, under heavy fire from the humans.

Scott got a tap on his shoulder, and turned to see Private Nichols behind him, leaning against the bench.

"We got them on the run, huh?!" shouted the young man.

Scott chuckled, and jumped up, throwing the grenade at the Elite. The blue alien also rose, firing its plasma rifle at him. It then looked down, noticing the grenade. It roared as the grenade went off right as its shields went down, blowing it apart. The Grunts stared at their dismembered leader, and began screaming.

"Tear them apart!" yelled a wounded army trooper.

Just then, four more Elites popped out from cover, advancing. They killed two army soldiers, and destroyed a Warthog with a wave of plasma grenades.

"Kill those things!" shouted Lieutenant Murphy.

Scott and Jimmy rushed out from cover, dropping Grunts right and left. Two Jackals approached, wielding shields. Scott slid behind a destroyed car, Jimmy across from him behind a cement block. Scott leaned out and shot the closest Jackal's hand, making it drop the shield. Scott then unloaded into the alien, killing it. The other alien turned to face Scott fully, giving Jimmy a clear shot into its back as it fired a shot from its plasma pistol at the Staff Sergeant. The bolt hit Scott's right shoulder pad, melting it away.

The Jackal then fell to the ground, riddled with bullets.

"You alright, Staff Sergeant?!" shouted Jimmy.

Scott nodded, holding where his shoulder pad used to be.

He rolled out from behind the car, and sprinted forward. An Elite Minor popped out in front of him, but Scott's instinct kicked in and he swept out the alien's legs, making it fall to the ground. The ODST pounced on its chest, pulling a knife from his boot and jamming it into the Elite's neck. Blue blood spurted out, covering Scott's visor. He got up, wiping off the blood.

Scott picked up his assault rifle and kept going forward, toward a small building at the other end of the plaza.

The humans were closing in on the Covenant forces, who continued their defense.

Scott was about to go up the first set of steps to the building when he saw four Grunts jump up, holding Fuel Rod Cannons.

"Get to cover!" cried an army trooper.

The four small aliens fired, blowing apart many soldiers and throwing Scott against a cement barricade. He closed his eyes for a second and then opened them, looking around. Dust was everywhere, and it hurt to move. He breathed heavily, and then let his head sink into the back of his helmet. Just then, an ODST appeared above him, looking all over him. It was Sergeant Woods.

"Come on man, come on! We got a war to win here!" he shouted.

"How... how bad is it?" Scott panted.

Gary lifted Scott's arms and looked under them, finally saying, "Not bad at all. No wounds that I see. Must have been the throw. You're probably sore. Now come on!"

And with that, Gary pulled up the Staff Sergeant and handed him his assault rifle, before charging back into the battle.

The Covenant were clearly on the ropes, and were bunching up against the building.

Scott joined Omega in the final charge when multiple loud screaming noises came in over the city. He looked up and saw seven UNSC frigates descending into low atmosphere above the city, joined by dozens of fighters.

Lieutenant Murphy led the push up the steps, bashing in a Grunt's head with his battle rifle and then chucking a frag grenade at a group of landed Drones.

The army troopers let out a victory cry, knowing that their part was soon to be over.

But then, through the doors of the building, two colossal Hunters smashed their way into the courtyard, piledriving into six men. Murphy dove away, barely missing their strike. The humans all went into cover, about seventy of them total.

"Use your grenades!" shouted Jessica.

Every few seconds, an explosion would go off by one of the Hunters, which barely reacted.

Scott and Gary, who found themselves behind the same concrete block, popped up and fired at the weak spots in the aliens. Then, the pair of Hunters turned to face the Helljumpers, and charged their deadly plasma cannons.

"Shit!" cried Scott.

The two scurried back down as the impact of the cannons peeled away at the block, tearing off chunks of cement with every second. The other Covenant forces were making a counterattack, killing more soldiers. Omega Platoon was falling back, towards the center of the plaza, around a fountain.

"Can we make it back to the rest of Omega?!" Gary yelled as more of their cover was being blown away.

Scott solemnly shook his head.

Gary ran his hand over his helmet and said, "Well, I didn't think I'd go out this way."

Scott said nothing.

The firing from the Hunters stopped, and suddenly the block was completely shattered as the two massive aliens charged into it. The two ODSTs were thrown back several yards, covered in debris. A large golden Elite shouted something, and ignited an energy sword. It held up a hand to the Hunters, who turned and started shooting at the other humans. It strode over to Scott, who was closest to it, and picked him up.

It held Scott up against its face and it snarled, "Why do you continue to fight? It is futile."

Scott spat in the aliens face.

The Elite chuckled and held up its sword.

Right before it could stab Scott, the Elite was suddenly tackled, and dropped its energy sword. Scott fell, and rolled over. He got on his hands and knees, and looked up. An ODST was on top of the Elite, pummeling its face in with his fists. On the troopers back was a pair of crossed battle rifles. Scott recognized the trooper immediately. It was Eddie.

Scott scrambled to his feet and ran over to Eddie.

"Kill the fuckin' thing!" shouted Eddie.

The Elite screamed out in pain,

Scott pulled out his magnum and fired a single round into the Elite's skull, ending its life.

The Covenant were continuing their advance, but it was quickly stopped when a flight of twelve AV-14 Hornet's soared around another building, closing on the courtyard.

"Hell yeah, cavalry's here!"

The VTOL aircraft unleashed a fury of chain gun and missile fire, ripping apart the Hunters and other Covenant forces. They slowed and began hovering over the courtyard, gunning down any Covenant that moved.

Then, over the comm, Lieutenant Murphy shouted, "_Omega, regroup at the fountain!"_

Eddie and Scott looked at each other and then started sprinting towards the medium sized fountain in the middle of the plaza, still spurting out water. The ODSTs were all falling back the fountain, shooting as they went. Of course, whatever they fired at was quickly dropped by the Hornets above. Corporal Jerry Moore, one of the oldest in Omega, had his M739 SAW propped against the fountain, firing at a pair of Elites retreating into the building. They were gunned down by the air support.

"_This is Gunfighter Actual, skies are clear. Bring in CASEVAC,_" the radio crackled.

Then, a trio of Pelican dropships soared towards the courtyard, descending. They kicked up dust as they neared the ground, and wounded army soldiers started approaching them, ready to leave.

The dropships swiveled around, and their back doors opened. Thirty fresh troops jumped out, fully armed. Following them came two medics from each Pelican.

"Get the wounded in the Pelicans!" one of them shouted.

One of the new soldiers ran up to Lieutenant Murphy and said, "Lieutenant Xu, 9th Platoon, 111th Infantry. Thanks for the help!"

Murphy put his hand on the soldier shoulder and said, "Always happy to help, soldier. We got the Covies falling back, but there's always gonna be more of them."

"Sir, our orders are to secure this plaza as an F.O.B. and wait for more reinforcements," said Lieutenant Xu.

Robert then asked, "What kind of reinforcements are we talking about here?"

Just then a loud blast shook the ground, and everyone looked up to see one of the UNSC frigates erupt into a great ball of fire and fall to the ground in pieces.

"Shit! Uhh... tanks, Hog's. You know," said Xu, staring at where the frigate used to be.

"Holy Christ, that was the _Constitution_!" shouted Sergeant John McNamara, one of Omega Platoon's snipers.

Two of the Covenant corvettes started moving forward, closing on the human frigates. The _Aegis Fate_ and _Forward Unto Dawn_ fired, stripping one of the corvettes' shields. A quick shot from the _In Amber Clad_ finished it off. The Longsword fighters, combined with the human frigates' firepower, destroyed the other one.

"Hey, you're an ODST, right?" asked someone to Scott's right. He looked over and saw a short, tubby soldier standing next to him, looking up at him. He looked like a high school student, not a soldier.

"I'm wearing the armor, aren't I?" replied Scott, flipping off his visor, revealing his eyes.

The soldier scratched his neck, and said, "Well, yeah... do you think we'll win?"

Scott looked at the boy, and said, "Yeah. Now that the ODST's are here."

"Oorah," Eddie said quietly.

The soldier turned and rejoined his squad.

"That kid looked like fifteen," Eddie said.

"Yeah... yeah he did. He shouldn't be here," Scott replied.

"But we need everyone for this. This is Reach, for fuck's sake. If we lose Reach, the war's over...," said Eddie.

Scott looked at him and said, "Good point."

"_This is Echo 4-1, we're clear for dustoff. Take it easy down there_," the radio cracked. The Pelican's bay doors slowly closed, and then they began lifting off.

"_Alright boys, Gunfighter's out. Have fun,_" the lead Hornet pilot said.

All of the aircraft turned and began flying away.

Suddenly, a Longsword fighter flying over was hit by a plasma bolt and lost control, crashing into the skyscraper above the plaza.

Just then, Lieutenant Murphy shouted, "Alright Omega, huddle up!"


	5. Chapter 5

**0700 Hours, August 30th, 2552 (Human Military Calendar)/ Council Chambers****/ High Charity/ Korfo**** System**

"Most noble Hierarchs," Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee said calmly, his voice covering his fear as he knelt slowly in front of his three leaders. The three rulers of the Covenant Empire sat in their gravity thrones, wearing their beautiful red robes and golden headdresses. They were small, frail, worm-like creatures, and to an outsider looked weak but Thel knew they could kill him in an instant, whether it be from the guards or from the weapons mounted on their thrones. The chamber fell silent, and all eyes came onto Thel. Surrounding him were hundreds of Sangheili, his brethren. There were even more San 'Shuyuum, like the High Prophets, in the chamber. The Sangheili Councilors were adorn in brilliant white armor, and had massive headdresses that covered the entirety of their heads. Each and every one of them had fought humanity at some point, and some had even glassed worlds.

"Supreme Commander, your failure to take the defilers planet resulted in the deaths of over half a _million_ Covenant members and hundreds of our precious ships. Your lack of sense illustrates your inability to lead the fleet. Tell me, what happened?" the one on the right said, his voice old yet smooth.

Thel sighed, and looked up at him, the Prophet of Truth, saying, "The planet was heavily defended. Hundreds of ships, and multiple orbital guns. One of their ships had the firepower of one of those stations and one of their cruisers. They were highly organized, and brought all of their guns to bear on our fleet." He paused, and saw that the Hierarchs were staring at him, waiting for him to continue. "Our Super Carriers are still concealed in their atmosphere, waiting for the order to attack."

"And none have been destroyed, I hope?" Truth said.

Thel shook his head, and said, "None have even been discovered yet."

"Yet? That seems as though the defilers might find them," the Prophet of Mercy, sitting on the left, spoke up.

"Noble hierarchs, I assure you, the humans will not find them," said Thel reassuringly.

"Why did you not place your smaller vessels, such as frigates and destroyers in front, before committing the sacred assault carriers and battlecruisers?" asked the Prophet of Truth.

Thel shook his head, and said, "That is what I did, my Prophet. But they were the ships the humans targeted first."

Just then Truth shouted, "Do not use their name in our Holy Chambers!"

Thel brought his head down, and said solemnly, "I apologize, my Hierarchs."

"This failure illustrates the flaws in your kind," spat the Prophet of Mercy. The Sangheili councilors rose in uproar, shouting in protest.

"Silence!" the Prophet of Regret, in the middle, yelled.

"Supreme Commander, you have been an excellent asset to us in the past, but this failure is... unacceptable," said Truth.

"My masters, I know this... I have failed the gods in my duties," Thel said quietly, but loud enough for everyone to hear him.

"Nay, you have lost your honor!" shouted a Sangheili councilor from one of the upper floors. The council roared in agreement.

"I do applaud you for being able to slip in the Super Carrier's, yet overshadowed by the loss of so many other vessels," sneered the Prophet of Mercy.

Thel slowly rose to his feet, and glared at the Prophets. "Why do you not go after the many Commanders that had their fleets completely destroyed at the hands of the _humans_, who can now strike at our very worlds?! What about that Admiral Cole, who has destroyed countless worlds and annihilated many fleets? Even now, he lays siege to _our _worlds, Sangheili colonies! Two Unggoy breeding planets have been erased completely! Why are you not reprimanding their leaders?!" he roared, pounding his fist into his hand.

The Sangheili Honor Guard gripped their weapons tightly, ready to bring down the Supreme Commander in front of the High Council.

The Prophet of Mercy smirked, his eyes looking all over the golden Sangheili, "Because most of them are dead, you peon! And the damned... _humans_," he paused, looking at Truth, before continuing, "have been most thorough and quick in their destruction of our planets, using a weapon called napalm to slaughter our people and firing into the volcanoes to spark great eruptions, darkening the skies before leaving. You should know this, _nishum_."_  
_

Thel's eyes flared. _He dared call me that word? There is no greater insult to a Sangheili. Were he not a Hierarch I would decapitate this worm and parade his flayed corpse through the Holy City!_ "That is but a fraction of the hundreds of human worlds that have been glassed, and have our sacred runes embedded into their crust! And now we are fighting a war of attrition in their Inner Colonies, losing more ships every day!" he took a step closer. "Have the Brutes answer for their stupidity and lack of sense! I personally have slain millions of human scum and glassed dozens of planets, so DO NOT question my ability you wretched weak worm!"_  
_

The Chamber was so quiet you could hear the outside halls. The Honor Guard had their weapons all pointed at Thel, waiting for him to make a sudden move at the Prophets. Then, through his ear piece, he heard, "_Not now, my brother. Their time will come, just not now. I would hate to vaporize my savior on Kholo."_

Mercy shouted, "Guards! Remove this..." before getting a swift backhand from Truth.

"Silence, you imbecile! Supreme Commander 'Vadamee, you have been an excellent commander and tactician, and are one of our most trusted. I offer you a chance to reclaim your honor," Truth said. Regret quietly chuckled in his seat, having waited for that moment for a while.

In front of Thel appeared a light purple hologram of a battlestation, the_ Unyielding Hierophant_. It was shaped like a figure eight, being able to hold entire fleets. And should anything get past those ships, it had a vast array of weaponry that could wipe out an entire fleet in mere minutes.

"You are giving me command of the _Unyielding Hierophant_?" Thel said, quickly dropping back down on one knee. "I will not fail you, my Hierarch."

Truth chuckled, and said, "Good, because if you do I will wipe you and your bloodline from history. There is one more thing, however. You must take the Jiralhanae Chieftain Tartarus and his Skull Crushers with you in this assault."

Thel looked up, and said, "Jiralhanae? You want _me_ to take them with me? They are barbarians, brutes, they have no honor! They are unfit for the Great Journey! I will absolutely not allow them in my fleet, what with their dirty fighting styles and tactics!"

"Says one from the race that invented active camouflage," quipped Mercy.

Thel shot him a nasty glare.

The Prophet of Truth stared at the Supreme Commander, before the hologram of _Unyielding Hierophant_ changed to a hologram of Sangheilios, Thel's homeworld. Hundreds of ships then started surrounding the planet, and began bombarding it, while holograms of Sangheili ships exploded. "Then I will _burn _the province of Vadam to the ground and have my Jiralhanae destroy the Crypt of your ancestors! And after that, they shall feast on your young's bones Sangheili!" Truth shouted.

Even the Honor Guard looked at Truth, shocked at what he had just said.

"NO!" Thel roared. "I will allow these... _brutes_... in my fleet, but if there is even but a hint of treachery or insurrection, I will throw them into the void where they belong!"

He and Regret's eyes met, and Regret gave a small nod.

Truth floated backwards, and said, "Very good Supreme Commander." He said a few things to Mercy in their native tongue, and then flicked his hand at Thel, saying, "Quorum dismissed. You may all leave now."

The Honor Guard left the room through the large doors, grumbling things among themselves. Thel stood in the same spot, watching the High Prophets leave. He turned to leave the Chamber, and saw that a few Sangheili councilors remained, all in the upper floors. They rose as one as he passed, and one of them said, "We are with you, Supreme Commander."

Thel went through the doors and saw the Brute chieftain Tartarus leaning against the wall, the Fist of Rukt attached to his back. He looked at Thel, who slowed down as the massive Brute took a few steps toward him. The chieftain began chuckling, and Thel snapped, "What is so funny?!"

Tartarus crossed his arms, and said, "Oh, nothing. I shall enjoy being under your command for this one."

"Make one move, Jiralhanae, and I shall cut off your head and let my Unggoy feast on it."

"We're all friends here, Supreme Commander," Tartarus replied sarcastically.

Thel brushed past him, but the Brute followed, saying, "I wonder what would have happened if you hadn't allowed me in your ranks."

The Sangheili turned around, and jabbed his finger at the Brutes chest, saying, "Your kind would be wiped out by the honorable warriors of Sangheilios."

Just then, from behind Tartarus, the familiar face of Rtas 'Vadumee appeared, donning his signature white armor. He passed Tartarus, and stood by his friend.

"Get to the _Hierophant_, Jiralhanae. Sangheili are too good for your kind," Rtas growled.

Tartarus let out one loud laugh, and then turned around, walking around the corner.

"I saw the whole exchange, and it looked like it was going to get ugly," Rtas said.

"The Prophets are idiots for making us take them along. But I am glad that your fleet is coming with us too. Stay close to the _Unyielding __Hierophant_, don't let it get destroyed," Thel replied.

The two walked along the halls, towards where Rtas' carrier _Shadow of Intent_ was.

As they crossed a bridge, an Unggoy whispered, "Heretic."

Thel whipped out his energy dagger and plunged it through the small creatures chest, before pushing it off the blade and the bridge with his foot.

Rtas then said, "I found something rather interesting in the meeting."

"Hmm?"

"That hologram of Sangheilios... it looked too precise, too planned. Almost as though they were expecting you to say something like you did," Rtas explained.

"I did find that peculiar. I also do not like that the Brutes are being given more and more power in our fleets," Thel added.

"Some of our brethren think that the Sangheili are to be replaced by the Jiralhanae," Rtas revealed. The two then came around a corner and into a massive hangar, where the large assault carrier _Shadow of Intent_ sat, its gravity lift activated.

"Impossible. The Prophets would not fracture our sacred Covenant like that," Thel said quickly.

"There are rumors that even Imperial Admiral Wattinree believes this," Rtas added.

Thel looked at Rtas, shocked. Imperial Admiral Xytan 'Jar Wattinree was a living legend among the Covenant, some even holding him to a higher status than the Prophets. Of course, this made the High Prophets assign him the the Fleet of Righteous Purpose, which guarded the fringes of Covenant planets. He had never been defeated in battle, and had longed to face the human Admiral Cole in battle.

"Come, let us get onto the ship," Thel said, after regaining his thought.

...

**0730 Hours, August 30th, 2552 (Military Calendar)/ Camp Napoleon, Outside Manassas****/ Planet Reach/ Epsilon Eridani System**

The once great city of Manassas was on fire.

Its skyscrapers burning, the smaller building demolished. Two Covenant battlecruisers hung over the city, along with ten corvettes. Thousands of alien infantry swarmed the city, forcing the human defenders into full retreat towards the outer city. Not even half of the civilian population had been evacuated yet, because they couldn't. The Covenant ships had slipped in after the first battle in space, and the UNSC couldn't divert any ships yet to clear the skies.

The UNSC was planning a counterattack, however.

Corporal Tom Jackson sat on the front right track of his M808 Scorpion tank. It was the workhorse of the UNSC ground forces, with all variants' main guns being upgraded to M515 120mm smooth bore high velocity cannons in response to the Covenant upgrading the shielding on their tanks. Tom watched the city burn in the distance with awe, although he knew that hundreds were dying every minute. His gunner, Private First Class Jesse Keck, sat on the tanks barrel, chatting with another tank crew.

Just then, Tom saw an evacuation transport lift off and then scream out of atmosphere under heavy fire.

"Woah, shit! They made it!" he cried.

"Huh?" Jesse mumbled, barely hearing his crewmate.

Tom turned around and said, "A transport got away. Slipped right through their ships."

"Lucky bastards," Jesse replied.

One of the other tankers, Sergeant Liam Rodriguez, said, "The assault should begin soon."

"How many guys do we got?" Tom asked.

Sergeant Rodriguez said, "At least fifteen tanks per company. I dunno how many companies we have taking part, but I know that we've got air support inbound."

Just then, an alarm started blaring, and a voice came over, "All tank crews, get to your vehicles. All other ground units, find your commanding officer."

"That's our queue!" Jesse yelled, climbing down from the gun and sliding into his gunner port. "See you guys on the battlefield," he said to the other tankers, pulling his protective hatch shut.

Tom sat down in his driver seat, and turned on the engine. The distinct roar of the Scorpion engine came on immediately, and the tank was ready to roll. Then, over the radio, Colonel Sanders, the commander of the mission, said, "_All armored units, spearhead the assault. I need Alpha and Bravo companies to punch through the middle. Following you will be the infantry. If any friendly forces pass, let them do so. Kill any of the alien bastards you see. Oorah."_

Through his viewport, Tom saw ten Sparrowhawk gunships start hovering over them.

"_Green light! Go go go!"_ Sanders shouted.

The Scorpion tank rumbled forward slowly, but began picking up speed. His tank was behind three others, and the rest of Alpha Company was behind him. The Sparrowhawks surged forward, firing their autocannons at Covenant forces. A column of Warthogs rolled past, the troops inside cheering at the tanks. Following them was a pair of M9 Wolverines, their anti-air missiles pointed at the sky.

"_Hold on a sec Alpha, got some tunes coming on here for a second,"_ Major Jerry McLean said over the radio.

"_Hopefully it ain't any of that shitty stuff Alpha 6 likes listening to,"_ Alpha 3 replied.

"_Hey fuck you, man_," Alpha 6 said.

"_Simmer down guys_," Major McLean said.

The tanks kept rolling forward, waiting for the music to begin.

"Yo, we gonna get that music?" Tom asked.

"_Technical difficulties. Fuck it, no music,"_ Major McLean grumbled._  
_

"_Good, didn't care for it anyways,"_ Alpha 4 said.

"_Shut up Alpha 4,"_ McLean said._  
_

"_Absolutely, sir,"_ 4 replied sarcastically.

"_Fine, no food for you," _McLean laughed.

"Hey, let's take it easy," Jesse said.

"_Shit, watch it! Banshee's comin' down!" _Alpha Six shouted.

Three Banshee fighters swooped in low, firing their plasma repeaters. Alpha Four and Seven swerved, missing two deadly bombs. Then, missiles from the Wolverines went up, destroying all three of the Banshees.

The tanks went down the road and started passing by the outskirts of Manassas, rolling past burned out buildings and destroyed structures. Wounded refugees staggered along, clutching their wounds or helping fellow wounded. They stared at the passing UNSC vehicles expressionless, before turning to continue down the road.

"_Fuckin' Covies gonna pay for this,_" Alpha Twelve growled.

"Their time will come soon, Twelve," Tom said.

"_It better, Nine, or I'll blame you_," Twelve said.

"_Hey, Alpha Company, this is Task Force Delta, we've made contact ahead. Look's like Wraith's. We're gonna fall back to better cover and let you guys handle it,_" an infantry commander said over the radio.

The tanks passed a collapsed building, and then entered a large intersection. On one side were UNSC forces, with marines in the buildings, firing. On the road were destroyed Warthog's and a few ones that were alright. The two Wolverines were behind a flipped semi truck, firing their missiles at Covenant aircraft. The Sparrowhawks flew over, engaging hostile forces. In the intersection were at least ten Wraith tanks, reinforced with a dozen or so Revenant light tanks and at least a hundred Covenant infantry.

"_Shit, it's too tight to get all of us in,_" Major McLean said.

"_Orders?_"

"_First five tanks through are it. Looks like the place only has enough room for that many_," McLean ordered.

Tom's tank, Alpha Two, followed the three in front of it into the intersection, firing their main guns. Multiple marines left cover and pressed forward, getting cut down by enemy fire. Major McLean's main gun shot back, sending a 120mm shell straight into an unshielded Revenant. The entire vehicle erupted into flame. The Scorpions then focused fire on the Wraith tanks, destroying two of them. The Wraith's then turned and aimed their main guns at Alpha One, McLean's tanks.

"_Yo Major, watch it!"_

It was too late.

Four of the Wraith's fired their mortars, all impacting on the tank. The Major's vehicle exploded as it fired a shell, making the explosion bigger.

"_Shit! Major's down!"_

"Keep pressing forward!" Jesse shouted, his machine gun chattering.

The Wraiths kept shooting, but then began backing up. The Covenant infantry pulled away from their cover, running back. Twelve Phantom dropships uncloaked, quickly picking up the infantry. They waited for the tanks to be pulled up, and then started flying away.

"_Oh shit! They're retreating! Woohoo!"_ Alpha Three cheered.

The Warthogs pulled up, and the marines filled the intersection, giving each other pats on the back. Hatches opened on the tanks, and the crews stood up, laughing.

Then, the Covenant ships many miles away began rising, going higher than the highest building in Manassas.

"Are they fully retreating?!" a marines asked.

"Probably not," Tom said.

"Woah! Radiation spike!" someone shouted.

Then, the bellies of the Covenant ships started lighting up, and all of a sudden a red beam shot down from the lead battlecruiser.

"They're glassing the city!"

"Get inside!"

The other ships began going over the city, glassing as they went.

The humans in the area scrambled for an interior, but it was useless.

Tom died on his back, facing a Covenant corvette going overhead.


	6. Chapter 6

**1300 Hours, October 7th, 2525 (Military Calendar)/ CMA _Heracles, _In Slipspace****/ En Route to Epsilon Indi System**

The door to the small cabin slid open with a hiss, an the sounds from the hallway outside slipped into the room, but quickly drowning out as the door shut. The room was dimly lit, but had enough light to see where you were going.

Timothy Graham shook his son awake. "Jon. Jon, time to wake up."

"What?" Jon said sleepily, stretching out his arms and kicking off the stiff covers, a pair of gym shorts and a plain white tee shirt covering his body.

"We're almost out of Slipspace. Come, we're going to be on the bridge for this.

Jon's eyes lit up. "Oh boy! The bridge?! Can I sit in the captain's chair?!"

Timothy chuckled, and said, "Maybe, son. But remember, you're a cadet. I expect you to be in your peak of discipline."

Jon nodded, and leaped out of bed. He quickly put on his white uniform, with a small nametag reading _Graham_ above his right breast. He was about to leave the room when his father said, "Jon. You're forgetting something."

The ten year old turned around and saw his father holding a small box. Jon went over to him and opened it, revealing all of his ribbons. Jon pinned them on and then started to leave the room, Timothy following him.

Jon left the cabin and bumped into a crewman, who snapped to attention when he saw Timothy's star and three stripes.

"At ease."

Jon and Timothy sped down the halls and towards the main elevator. Jon jumped in and ushered his father to be faster. Timothy stepped inside and said, "Command deck."

The elevator pinged, and it started to go up rapidly.

"Will the captain like me?" asked Jon.

Timothy looked down at his son and said, "Yes, I'm sure Captain Veredi will like you very much. You're a good boy. Your mother would be so proud of you if she were here." He smiled.

Jon looked forward, bouncing. Then, the elevator beeped, and the doors hissed open.

The bridge was quite spacious, considering all of the instruments in it. A dozen or so people sat at consoles, doing their usual activities on them. In the front and center of the deck was a large chair. Timothy nudged his son, who quickly went serious. He almost started marching, but his father walked casually. They stopped behind the chair, and Timothy said, "Captain Veredi, sir."

The chair swiveled around, and a middle aged bearded man sat in it, his hair graying. He looked at Timothy and his son, and said, "You must be Jonathan. Pleased to meet you."

Jon went to attention and saluted.

"At ease, son. Come, take a seat. We'll be dropping out of Slipspace here in a few moments," Captain Veredi said.

Two crewmen wheeled up chairs, and Timothy sat to the left of the Captain. Jon was right up on the railing, his arms dangling over it.

"If I might ask, sir, where are we going and for what reason?" Jon asked.

Captain Veredi looked at him, and said, "Eight months ago, we lost contact with the planet Harvest. Six months ago, the scout ship _Argo_ was sent to investigate, and we never heard anything back. So now, we're going in to figure it out, and we have the firepower to back it up."

"Captain, do we have any reinforcements in case of any overwhelming hostiles?" asked Timothy.

With a wave of his hand, Captain Veredi said, "We don't need any help. We've got two frigates _and_ a destroyer at our disposal. I'm sure we'll be fine."

"What do you think it is, sir?" asked Jon.

"Probably Insurrectionists. They've done similar things, but not on this scale," the Captain said.

"Sir, we're coming out of Slipspace in five seconds," the navigation officer said.

"Good. Hey, son, would you like to sit in my chair for a moment?" Captain Veredi said to Jon, smiling.

"Yes, sir!" Jon yelled, leaping up. He quickly sat down in the large chair, adjusting himself to it.

"It's definitely comfortable," he said.

Then, the _Heracles_ came through a massive hole in space, its two escorts, _Arabia_ and _Vostok,_ coming in next to it. Ahead of the battlegroup was a large smoldering rock. It looked like a massive asteroid, it couldn't be a planet.

Jon received a tap on the shoulder and heard the Captain say, "Get up, son."

The cadet got up, and plopped back down in his seat. He stared at the rock, and asked, "Dad... err, I mean, commander, what is that?"

Timothy leaned in, and shook his head, and said, "That can't be Harvest. Ensign, are we in the right system?"

The navigation officer shouted, "Yes, sir! That is Harvest... and by god she looks wrecked."

Capatain Veredi leaned forward, gripping the sides of his chair, and said, "Bring the Battlegroup into tight formation and go into high orbit of the planet."

Jon stared at the planet, not believing that this was a human colony.

"Was Harvest always like this, Captain?" he asked.

Veredi shook his head, and said, "No, she's an agricultural colony. Or it was."

"Good god, who could have done this? The entire UNSC fleet couldn't destroy a planet like thi...," Timothy began, before getting cut off by the Captain.

"It wasn't Insurrectionists," he said.

The three ships of Battlegroup 4 closed in on what used to be Harvest, and started going over her in high orbit. Fires raged across the burned world, and it looked as though the entire planet was turned to glass. Then, the ships came into view of a massive purple vessel. It hung over the planet, not moving. It was much larger than even the largest UNSC ships, and looked like a shark.

"Ensign... Ensign, what is that?" Timothy asked.

"I... I don't know. It doesn't match any known ship classifications," the operations officer said.

"That's because it isn't human. Lieutenant, open a comm link with that vessel. I think we've just made contact with extraterrestrials, albeit under bad circumstances," Captain Veredi.

The bridge was silent as the entire bridge crew stared at the massive alien ship, until finally the communications officer said, "Link's open, sir."

Captain Veredi cleared his throat, and then said, "Go through with standard first contact protocol."

The communication officer's console beeped multiple times as he sent a strain of codes to the alien ship. "Message received, sir."

"Now we wait," Timothy muttered, tensing in his seat.

Jon sat up, and said, "Dad, are these aliens friends?"

Timothy shrugged. Captain Veredi began sweating, and squirming in his chair.

Finally, the communications officer yelled, "We have a response, sir!"

"On screen," Captain Veredi said.

The main screen on the bridge came on, and a single message appeared, saying: _Your destruction is the will of the gods, and we are their instrument._

The bridge fell completely silent; only the constant hum of the engines remained.

"Sir, they're charging weapons!" the operations officer yelled.

Shakily, Captain Veredi yelled, "All vessels, open up with Archers!"

"If that ship can destroy an entire planet, what the hell can we do?!" Timothy said to the Captain.

The Captain turned to him and said, "Our job is to protect Earth and all of her colonies. And do that we shall."

Ahead of the _Heracles_, the _Charon_-class frigates _Arabia_ and _Vostok_ sped ahead, launching their Archer missiles. The Archer was a ship to ship missile, and could typically destroy an Insurrectionist ship in one or two volleys. The missiles rocketed towards the vessel, and suddenly the alien vessel destroyed most of them with Point Defense Lasers.

Jon quickly jumped up, and shouted, "Just use the MAC gun!"

Captain Veredi said nothing.

Then, the remaining missiles impacted on the hostile ship, only to be deflected by energy shielding.

"Oh my god...," Timothy muttered.

The alien ship then fired back.

Plasma torpedoes left the alien ship, and hit the two frigates at the same time. The ships boiled away before their very eyes with loss of all hands.

"Fire the MAC gun!" Jon repeated.

"We're having trouble with the Archer pods, sir!" the weapons officer shouted.

"What deck?" Veredi asked.

"Deck thirteen."

"Commander Graham, go check it out. Jonathan, remain here," the Captain said.

"Aye aye. Jon, I'll see you in a few minutes," Timothy said, rushing off of the deck.

"Sir, the MAC will do a lot of damage to the ship, if I'm not mistaken," Jon said to the captain, standing on the railing.

The Captain looked at him, and said, "Maybe. Fire the MAC gun!"

The lights of the bridge dimmed, and the ship shook twice, sending two heavy MAC rounds hurtling at the Covenant ship. The rounds were simply absorbed by the shields.

"If they can deflect MAC rounds... oh god, sir! They're firing again!" the ops officer cried.

"Evasive maneuvers!"

The _Heracles_ rolled and tried to avoid the enemy plasma torpedoes, but it was impacted by two of them. The destroyer shook violently, sending things not bolted to the ship flying all over the place. Jon fell off the railing, but caught onto it as he fell, pulling himself up.

"Are we alive?" he said quietly.

"Yes, son. Damage report?!" Captain Veredi replied.

"Decks twelve through fifteen are compromised, fires have broken out. I'm gonna vent them," the operations officer said.

"No, you can't! My dad's down there!" Jon cried, staring at the officer.

"Sir, someone from deck thirteen is trying to contact us!" the communication officer said.

"On screen."

Then, on the main screen, the face of Timothy Graham came on, his face covered with cuts and bruises. He shouted, "We're hit! We've got fires down here!"

Captain Veredi said, "We're going to have to vent them, Commander. Can you get anybody out?"

Timothy nodded and said, "I've already got a quarter to other decks."

"Can you get out, dad?" Jon asked.

Timothy looked into the camera and said, "I think so. Wait, Captain, what are you going to do?!"

Veredi then said, "Commander, we have to vent the decks."

"I don't have enough time to get out before they spread!" Timothy cried.

"Sir, fires are creeping up onto other decks!" an officer yelled.

"I'm sorry, Commander," Captain Veredi finally said.

Jon stared at the screen, tears building in his eyes.

"Jon, I love you. Your mother and I are very proud of you! Turn away, son," his father said.

But Jon didn't turn away.

"Vent it," Veredi said softly.

Then, the camera went black, as the four decks were vented into space to put out the fires.

"Dad!" Jon cried, falling to his knees.

"Ensign, get us the hell out of here!" Veredi shouted.

The _Heracles_ was hit a few more times by lasers, but then disappeared into the blue light of Slipspace.

"I'm sorry, son," Captain Veredi said, burying his face into his hands.

Jon cried alone on the bridge.

...

**0100 Hours, August 31st, 2552 (Military Calendar)/ UNSC _Achilles_****/ Epsilon Eridani System**

Captain Graham sat in his chair, looking out at the massive UNSC fleet. More ships had been arriving, mostly evacuation transports. The 1st Fleet had arrived, bringing fifteen cruisers, five carriers, fifty frigates, and twenty one destroyers. Thousands of ground troops were being shipped down to the planet, joining the millions already fighting. The _Achilles_ was in the middle of the main fleet, surrounded by repair craft. To protect the vital orbital guns, Admiral Whitcomb had deployed three ships to each station.

"Sir, Admiral Whitcomb's broadcasting to the whole fleet," Lieutenant Cortez said.

"Bring it up," Jon replied.

"_Admiral Whitcomb to all ships. We have over one thousand hostile ships jumping into system. Repeat, over a thousand Covenant vessels inbound. All ships are to form Attack Pattern Agartha. Let's get ready__."_

Immediately, the carriers of the fleet rumbled forward, about one million kilometers ahead of the main force. They halted, and turned so their sides were facing the star of Epsilon Eridani. Fighter squadrons massed on the opposite side of the gigantic ships, where the main fleet was in sight of them. The _Marathon_ cruisers formed one long line formation, stretching across. Filling the gaps ahead of them were the destroyers, and ahead of them were the other ships. The point of the formation was to bring all guns to bear, yet give enough space for emergency maneuvers. The carriers were ahead to bait the Covenant into jumping in closer, catching them into the guns of the ODP's and other ships. The carriers would then jump to another part of the system, and them come back. The second phase of Agartha was Shangri-La, where the fleet would scatter, and form battegroups of ten ships each.

"Alright, guys. We can do this," Jon said.

"Damn right we can. We're fuckin' humans," Lieutenant Covington replied.

"Ya know, if this were the 21st century we could do that 'USA' chant those people did," Ensign Davidson remarked.

Jon glared at her, and said, "We still do it where I come from."

"I'm sure you do, Cap," Ensign DeSemple said.

Ahead of the carriers, space ripped open, and dozens of the all-too-familiar purple Covenant ships took shape. It appeared as though they took bait, coming in closer than previously expected. They sped towards the UNSC ships, firing lasers. Blue holes came from ahead of the UNSC ships, and they jumped into Slipspace, leaving hundreds of fighters in their wake. The full brunt of the UNSC fleet fired upon them, tearing away massive chunks from Covenant cruisers. The fighters rushed forward, strafing the approaching Covenant vessels.

"_Line two, fire at will."_

Dozens of UNSC destroyers fired two massive slugs in unison, past the smaller ships ahead of them. Of course, there was no way of telling who hit what, with all ships firing. The result, however, was dozens of shattered Covenant ships.

"_All ships, move in Shangri-La formation. Repeat, Shangri-La is a go."_

The human fleet began forming into battlegroups, most of which consisted of a single cruiser, two or three destroyers, and the rest being frigates or corvettes. Ensign DeSemple brought the _Achilles_' designated group, made up of the _Halcyon_-class cruiser _Williamsburg_, the destroyers _Minotaur_ and _Majestic_, and six frigates. The ships came to a slow advance, pressing forward.

"_Captain Graham?! It's Sam! Samantha Ellis, from the _Saipan_? You there buddy?!"_ the line from the _Williamsburg _exclaimed.

Jon smiled and picked up the handset next to his seat, "Well well well. Look who got their very own cruiser! How'd you manage that one, Sam?"

"_Later. We have a war to win,_" the woman responded.

The _Achilles_ tilted its bow forward, and fired two rapid shots and a salvo of Archers at a Covenant light cruiser. The MAC rounds missed, and just before the Archers impacted, the light cruiser fired plasma torpedoes at a cluster of frigates, boiling both of them away. The Archers erupted on the cruisers shields, just before a larger battlecruiser blocked the _Achilles_' view of its target. More and more Covenant ships were slipping in; far too many for the current UNSC fleet to take on with the losses it was sustaining._  
_

Suddenly, Ensign Davidson shouted, "Sir, we have massive radiation spikes from the surface of Reach! Oh my god..."

"What is it, Ensign?!" Jon yelled back, getting up from his chair and jogging to her station.

"Shit...," he said, looking at her screen.

Ten massive figures were in Reach's low orbit, matching the figures of Covenant supercarriers.

"Where are they?" Jon quietly asked.

Davidson brought up the location on the map. "Looks like they're all around Manassas, and moving out slowly."

"How did they break through..?" Jon whispered to himself.

He then stood straight, and turned to his weapons officer, "How many nukes.. do we have, Lieutenant?"

No answer.

"Lieutenant!"

Covington swiveled around quickly, straightening his shirt. "Huh, yes, sir! Uh, we have six nukes left, sir. Yeah, six."

"You alright, Lieutenant?" asked Jon.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just.. haven't slept for two days, sir."

"Arm the nukes, and wait for my command," Jon said, walking down to Lieutenant Cortez's station.

"Contact the battlegroup. Get a count for nukes, and tell them to arm them," Jon ordered.

He sat back down, and waited for Cortez to send off the order.

Jon picked out the handset, and waited for Sam to call.

She did.

"_Just what the hell do you think you're doing, Jon?!"_

"There are _ten_ alien supercarriers down there. Conventional weapons won't do shit," he replied.

The woman scoffed, and said, "_Contact the _Invincible_, or the Big Sticks. Don't kill more civilians, Jon."_

"You know they're occupied! We can end this, right now!" Jon shouted.

He heard Sam sigh heavily, and then she said, "_Fine, we'll get ready to attack."__  
_

Jon put down the phone, and said, "Is this worth it, William?"

William Covington didn't say anything, and then said, "Is what worth it, sir?"

"Fighting. I'm about to order something that will kill millions. Is this even worth it?"

"Sir, if you want my opinion, we can lure the carriers out and nuke them here," William said.

"Looks like your wish came true, Cov. A single one of the carriers, the _Long Night of Solace_, is moving into high orbit. Wait, make that three carriers," Davidson said.

"_All ships, this is the Admiral. I need all available battlegroups to attack the Covenant supercarriers exiting atmosphere. All weapons are availa... hold on. New contacts coming in. Looks like mostly carriers and battlecruisers but... what the hell is that?" _the comm barked as hundreds of new contacts came onto the scanner.

"Sir, this is _Achilles_ Actual, my battlegroup is going to assault the supercarriers. Focus the fleet on the new contacts, sir," Jon said into the comm._  
_

"_Do what you have to, Captain,"_ Whitcomb replied._  
_

The battlegroup spun around to face the approaching supercarriers. The frigates fired their MAC guns, barely doing anything on their shields.

"Sir, we just received a mayday call from the frigate _Savannah. _They're attacking a Covenant corvette, the _Ardent Prayer_. They say there are Spartans on board it," Lieutenant Cortez said.

"Do they want our help?"

"Yes, sir. They request fighters for support," Cortez replied.

"Ask them what the hell Spartan's are doing on that thing," Jon said.

After a few seconds, Cortez said, "Classified ONI mission. They're saying to stay away from the _Long Night of Solace_, though."

Nodding, Jon said, "Mr. Covington, fire two nukes at the carrier bearing a few clicks behind the _Long Night_."

"Aye aye. Shiva's away," the Lieutenant said.

The two missiles left the destroyer, going through flak from the cannons of the human ships. Below the _Long Night of Solace_ was a Covenant corvette, and near that was a lone human frigate. The Shiva missiles went past both ships and sped towards the farthest supercarrier, which was charging its weapons for an attack on the battlegroup.

"Sir, the nukes would just bounce off the shielding. We have to drop the shields!"

Jon nodded, and picked up his phone, "Sam, I need you and the entire group to open fire with MACs, Archers, Howlers, everything you got. Drop the shields on the furthest carrier."

_"Nukes?_" she asked.

"Not yet, Sam," Jon said.

The _Williamsburg_ opened up, followed by the other ships in the group. The shields on the carrier began to flicker, but held. Soon enough though, the shields collapsed just as the Shiva's impacted. The carrier was engulfed in a bright light, and then disappeared.

"Is it destroyed?" Jon asked Davidson.

The Ensign replied, "No, sir. It jumped away."

Then, the _Savannah _exploded. A few minutes later, the _Ardent Prayer_ went into the hangar of the _Long Night of Solace_, and it and the supercarrier were engulfed in a ball of Slipspace, tearing the _Long Night of Solace_ apart.

"Sir, there are two survivors off of the Covenant corvette. Their callsigns and biometrics match those of two Spartans," Ensign Davidson said.

"Thank god," Jon said.

"Sir, there's a massive contact coming into system. The Admiral is calling for all available units to assemble and engage," Lieutenant Cortez reported.

"Alright, bring us towards the fleet. I'll bring Captain Ellis up," Jon said, reaching for his handset.

"Sam, did you get the Admiral's request?"

"_I did, Jon. We're goin' in. Keep on my front,_" Sam replied, as the _Williamsburg_ began following the _Achilles_ towards the assembling human fleet.

"Looks like it's being escorted by three hundred ships, all cruisers and carriers," Davidson said.

The attacking Covenant fleet turned and soared towards the slip-in point for the unknown ship. The UNSC fleet fired as the attackers retreated, taking out a few ships here and there. Then, a massive hole ripped open in the black of space, and a colossal vessel came in, shaped like a figure eight. Eleven hundred ships closed in on the humans.

"_All ships, this is Admiral Whitcomb. Here, right now, we are outnumbered two to one, and outgunned heavily. But we can win. If we don't, which isn't gonna happen, we'll show these goddamn Covenant alien motherfuckers just what humanity can do. All ships, you may fire at will."_

...

**0045 Hours, August 31st, 2552 (Human Military Calendar)/ _Unyielding Hierophant_****/ En Route to Epsilon Eridani System**

Thel 'Vadamee sat in his command chair, overlooking the massive bridge of the battlestation. Unggoy stood at some of the stations, hand picked due to them actually having intelligence, unlike the rest of their race. Of course, all of the important stations were manned by Sangheili, speaking quietly among themselves. For them, this wave of assault would shatter the human resolve and, more importantly, their fleet. Thel had been thinking since the quorum with the Hierarchs. Surely the Great Journey was true, but should the Prophets really be the ones at the helm? It was not their blood being spilled in a war that was quickly becoming a stalemate.

Resting his head in his hands, he remembered when he and a squad of Zealots breached a heavily defended bunker on the planet Roost and slaughtered all but one of the defenders. Thel dragged the wounded marine into a small room, promising him survival if he gave the Covenant the coordinates for Earth after finding out this marine was the second in command of the base. Instead of complying, however, the human attacked Thel and the guards, beating one of the Zealots to death before being impaled by Thel's sword. In his dying words, the marine uttered the words _Semper Fi._

Thel was snapped out of his memory by the heavy footsteps of Tartarus approaching him. The Supreme Commander looked up, and saw the heads of some of the bridge crew slightly turned, before looking back at their screens. The ornamented Fist of Rukt hung over his shoulder, covered with bones and animal skins.

"Well, today's the big day, _Commander_," the Brute said, almost spitting out the last word.

"It is. And today is the day we achieve victory," Thel said.

Tartarus chuckled, and walked over to the command table in the center of the bridge. He pressed a button, and a hologram of the planet Reach came up. Surrounding the world were hundreds of the Defilers ships. The Chieftain zoomed in on one specifically, a ship larger than even their cruisers.

"What are you doing?" asked Thel, rising from his chair and walking down to the opposite side of the table, leaning on it.

Tartarus looked at the ship, and pointed at it, "That ship is one of what the humans call a dreadnought. The _Invincible_, to be exact. It destroyed over fifty of your ships alone."

He chuckled, and began pacing. It was definitely no secret that his kind and the Jiralhanae had a disdain for each other, and the two kept their distance as often as possible, so as not to ignite old flames. Thel looked at the ship.

"What is your point?"

"My point is that this battle shall not end quickly," Tartarus replied.

Deep down, Thel believed him, but he couldn't say it, "The humans have defiled us for far too long. The Hierarchs have entrusted me to destroy the humans. And with this battlestation, this shall be much easier."

To a Sangheili Minor, the _Unyielding Hierophant_ appeared like a massive space station. But it was much, much more. With the firepower to destroy and entire Covenant fleet at medium to close range, this battlestation was more than meets the eye. It did not have any of the holy beams, but still had plasma torpedoes and defense lasers. The most unique power of the station was that it could expand its extremely powerful energy shields to cover its defense fleet, giving them cover from enemy fire. It was the key to victory.

"Do you fear them, Sangheili?" Tartarus asked.

Thel looked at him, and said, "Fear them? Of course not. I respect them as warriors, and find their ferocity and dedication honorable. But all that is effortless against their inevitable destruction." He spun the hologram around, bringing most of the human ships into view. "They may be capable of many things, but victory is not one of them."

Letting out a low laugh, Tartarus said, "Then why have we not been able to breach and glass their Inner Colonies? What is with this sudden turn around in their fighting? Why have they been able to slowly push us into a war of attrition?" Thel knew that Tartarus was trying to bait him, make him snap. "Could it be that your kind has failed?"

"In the beginning," Thel snarled, "We were attacking insignificant, sparsely populated outer worlds, lightly defended by smaller human ships. But once the twenty billionth human fell dead, they struck back with every powerful warship they had before we had a chance to decimate the next wave of human planets." He leaned in. "They have excellent leadership, like that Whitcomb, Stanforth, and Cole, who are superior to your kinds best commanders. They have been difficult to destroy."

"Was it not your peoples' armadas that were 'protecting' the planets the humans have destroyed?" Tartarus sneered.

Thel let out a mighty laugh, and a few of the bridge crew chuckled too. "Might I mention that your homeworld was almost among those?"

Growling, Tartarus tightened his grip on the Fist of Rukt. "Watch your tongue, Sangheili," he snarled.

"The fleet over Doisac outnumbered the humans four to one, yet almost all of its ships were destroyed. Were it not for the timely arrival of the Imperial Admiral, the humans would have almost certainly turned their weapons on the defenseless surface population, firing into its great volcanoes, spewing out ash and deadly gases, and rendering your world uninhabitable for years to come. And who was it that came to your rescue?" Thel continued.

"The Sangheili!" a bridge officer shouted in agreement, throwing his fist into the air. Tartarus snapped his head to face the much smaller being, and bared his teeth at it.

Thel laughed, and turned back to Tartarus, "You see Tartarus, the Sangheili are known to the humans as 'Elites', a term commonly used to describe the best of the best. Your kind, on the other hand, are known as Brutes. Brutes are barabarians, and uncivilized."

The Fist of Rukt slid down, and Tartarus brought his other hand onto the handle, holding it with both. He was panting, and stared at Thel like he was prey.

Out of the corner of his eye, Thel saw some Honor Guard coming up from behind the Jiralhanae chieftain, weapons at the ready. Thel held up his hand for them to stand down.

"Make one move, Brute, and your life will be measured in seconds," Thel said calmly.

Tartarus continued staring at him, and then scoffed. He slung the hammer over his shoulder, and turned around, leaving the bridge.

The Supreme Commander continued looking at the hologram of Reach.

From the other side of it, he saw a blue Minor approaching him, "Supreme Commander, we are nearing the human planet. All ships are accounted for and ready."

"Excellent. Communications!" Thel snapped his head at the Unggoy Ultra manning the station. "Contact all ships in the fleet!"

"Line open, Commander!" the small alien screeched.

"Crew members of the Fleet of Unyielding Justice! On this day, our purge of the Defilers shall gain redemption for all of our defeats, for all the dishonored families. On the blood of our fathers and sons, we have sworn to destroy those who have defied our sacred Covenant!" His voice became low and calm. "Let their rivers run red with their blood. Make their fields turn to gas. Make their people turn to ash."

"All ships are ready to emerge from Slipspace," a Minor barked.

Nodding, Thel made fists and said, "Execute."


	7. Chapter 7

**0105 Hours, August 31st, 2552 (Military Calendar)/ UNSC _Pillar of Autumn_****/ Over Reach, Epsilon Eridani System**

SPARTAN-104, Frederic, twirled a combat knife between his nimble fingers, repeating specific knife techniques. Naval personnel walked by Frederic carefully, as the sight of a Spartan with a combat knife was usually accompanied by multiple dead bodies, hopefully Covenant. The port hangar bay was relatively empty, with most ground forces in the barracks. All fighters were out and engaged, and only a few had returned for repair and rearmament. He noticed the absence of any other Spartans, with Captain Jacob Keyes and Master Chief Petty Officer John 117 deploying many of the Spartans down to the surface. The only Spartans remaining on the _Pillar of Autumn _were John, Kelly, Linda, James, Will, and himself. Operation: RED FLAG was still authorized, but they had yet to find a Covenant ship able to be boarded. The _Long Night of Solace_ was an option, and the Spartans were readying for deployment, but the supercarrier was suddenly destroyed by a UNSC team.

Fred lifted his head and watched as the hangar bay doors slid open, and a Pelican floated into the bay, the doors closing behind it. The dropship spun around, and touched down on the deck. Five seconds later, the back hatch cracked open, and four Spartans stepped out onto the hangar. Fred smiled behind his visor, and got up, sheathing his knife. He walked over to the Spartan team, recognizing their numbers: 039, 030, 044, and 059.

"Atten-hut!" Anton shouted, snapping to attention with the Spartan team.

"At ease, Spartans," Fred said, giving a quick salute.

The three other Spartans brushed past Fred, walking through the hangar. Anton and Fred walked together.

"What's the situation on the surface?" asked Frederic.

Anton sat down on a crate across from where Fred was sitting, and set down his assault rifle, "Not good." He began with a thick Russian accent. "Damn xenos have captured much of Quezon. We managed to retake a few areas, but the Covenant are still breathing down our necks."

"Any injuries?" Fred asked, sitting down.

Anton cocked his head to the side, and said, "None for us. For the regulars, though..."

"Pretty bad?"

Anton nodded, saying, "Two battalions of tanks were wiped out in five minutes by Banshees. Bastards took out Wolverines first, then they moved in. Bloodbath."

"We're deploying everything we've got right now. Reach won't fall on our watch," Fred said, unholstering his M6D Magnum.

Chuckling, Anton asked, "Would you let your home fall?"

Fred simply nodded.

"I'm gonna go catch up with the team. I'll see you later, Chief," Anton said, rising and then leaving the deck. As he started leaving, however, Captain Keyes' voice came over the intercom, saying, "_All Spartans, report to the bridge. All Spartans to the bridge."_

Anton turned around to see Fred approaching, his rifle slung over his back.

...

The ten Spartans stood in front of Captain Keyes, towering over everyone on the bridge. John stood ahead of the others, facing the Captain. Keyes looked out of the front viewport, and took a drag from his pipe, exhaling with a massive plume of smoke. He blinked a few times, and then turned around. His white uniform was covered with various medals and ribbons; he was one of the best commanders in the UNSC.

"Spartans, we have a... bad situation right now," the Captain said solemnly.

"Something worse than the Covenant, sir?" asked John.

"Well yes... and no. One of our refit stations, _Gamma Station_, is on the other side of Reach. An ONI Prowler, the _Circumference_, is docked there and was unable to initiate the Cole Protocol before the Covenant found it. The data on that prowler includes navigational data to other Inner Colonies, and more importantly, Earth. We've detected three Covenant frigates en route there. FLEETCOM has asked me to deploy Spartans to destroy the ship and the station," he explained, looking at each of the Spartans.

Fred was just about to volunteer to lead the mission, but Kelly beat him to it.

"Sir, permission to lead the space op," she said, stepping forward.

"Negative, Kelly. I'll be leading this one. Linda, James, meet me in the armory in ten mikes. Fred, I'm putting you in command in my absence," John said, turning to face Kelly and then Fred.

"Aye, sir!" they both said, saluting.

Captain Keyes took another smoke, and then said, "That's the other thing. Covenant forces on the ground are advancing on the power generators for the MAC guns."

"Aren't there Marines guarding those?" asked Vinh.

"Master Chief, you and your team may leave the deck," Keyes said to John.

"Yes, sir," John said, saluting and then leaving the bridge with Linda and James following him.

After the trio left, Keyes said, "Yes, Spartan. There are Marines guarding them. They request reinforcements, but HIGHCOM is all tied up right now. I'm afraid you will all be deployed to the surface."

"Just when we thought it was over...," Isaac mumbled.

"What was that, Spartan?" Keyes asked, hearing him.

"Nothing, sir!" the supersoldier replied loudly.

"Good. I wish you all good luck on your mission," Keyes said, turning around.

"Sir!" Fred snapped.

Turning around, Captain Keyes said, "Yes?"

The Spartans all saluted him, Frederic saying, "Good luck to you too, Captain."

Keyes gave a quick salute, and then watched the Spartans file off of the deck.

...

The seven Spartans all sat in the lone D77-TC Pelican dropship, waiting for clearance to leave the cruiser. John, Linda, and James were long gone, off on their mission to _Gamma Station_. Hopefully they would make it. John was the best Spartan of all of them, and there was no way he would fail. Linda was their best sniper and spotter, and her skills would be useful in the long ranges of space. James had lost his hand on Sigma Octanus IV, and John probably chose him because he was one persistent bastard.

Frederic sat down in the seat closest to the cockpit, and holstered his assault rifle. Kelly sat across from him, looking at the floor.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just never thought the Covenant would find Reach," she replied, looking up at him.

"Like I told Anton earlier, it won't fall on our watch. When John and the others get back, we'll beat the Covenant once and for all," Fred assured.

"How can we know John will come back?" Vinh chimed in.

"When has he ever let us down?" Malcolm, by the back door, said.

"True," Vinh replied.

"Alright, Spartans! We have a green light. Get ready for drop!" the pilot shouted.

"Buckle up, Red Team!" Fred yelled.

The back doors to the dropship closed shut, and the Pelican started to move forward slowly. Seconds later, the ship rocketed out of the _Pillar of Autumn_ and began dropping into the atmosphere of Reach. The _Autumn_ started to move away, towards the main fleet. As the Pelican began breaking through the atmosphere, the ship started to shake heavily. Everything started shaking, and the Spartans remained motionless.

"_This is Knife 26, we'll be flying your escort,"_ a female voice crackled over the radio.

Seven large Longsword fighters pulled alongside the Pelican, designated Bravo 001. The fighters weaved among each other.

Flight Officer Mitchell, the pilot, shouted, "We got Seraphs, coming in hot!"

The Pelican rolled and the Longswords peeled off to engage the attacking Seraphs. There were twelve of them, moving fast and punching hard. _Knife 28_ pulled behind two Seraphs, and destroyed them with bursts from its chaingun.

"_Knife 26 here, we're gonna get 'em off your tail and rejoin in a few moments. Standby."_

"Where are we touching down?" Fred shouted over the roar of the engines.

"I'm gonna put here down a few clicks away from the generators! Get ready, we're almost through!" Mitchell replied.

The last Seraphs pulled away, going to rejoin the battle.

"_Knife here, Covies are retreating. We're gonna join back up. Took one loss_," the squadron leader said.

"Touchdown in thirty seconds!" Mitchell shouted.

Fred got up, and walked carefully into the cockpit, bracing himself against the pilot's seat and the bulkhead. Outside of the windshield, a Longsword moved ahead of the Pelican, and then the ships pulled up as they approached the ground. As the Pelican leveled, Frederic and Mitchell gasped when they saw four Covenant ships scattered across the landscape, dropping troops.

"Where are we, Officer?" Frederic asked.

"We're over the forests near Orbital Defense Generator A-331. Pretty major base," Mitchell said.

The Pelican slowed, and Mitchell turned his head, "This is your destination. Thanks for flying Autumn Airlines."

Fred nodded, and then went back into the cabin, picking up his rifle. "Alright, Red Team. We're good to go," he said as the doors opened. The Spartans got up, and rushed out of the dropship, creating a small perimeter around the drop zone. The Longswords pulled up quickly, rising into atmosphere.

"_I'll be your pickup too, Spartans. Hail me when you're ready," _Mitchell said over radio as the Pelican took off, joining its escorts.

...

**0500 Hours, August 31st, 2552 (Military Calendar)/ Near Orbital Defense Generator A-331****/ Planet Reach, Epsilon Eridani System**

The Spartans moved slowly, and were spread out to prevent any Covenant surprises. They couldn't visibly see each other, but their friend-or-foe monitors allowed all of them to keep track of each other. They all moved silently through the forest: light and shadow with a sudden burst of luminous green armor, then gone again.

"Red-One, this is Red-Four. Single enemy contact...neutralized."

"Red-Two, got one here two," Kelly reported. "Neutralized."

There were bound to be more. Fred knew that the Covenant never traveled in small numbers.

If the Covenant were this far out of urban centers, that must mean that the Covenant were slowly breaching the orbital perimeter. Either that, or they had been from the first wave, and the fleet had yet to take care of them.

He was so intent on listening to his teams field checks, that he almost ran into a pair Jackals. He instantly melted into the trees and froze. The Jackals hadn't seen him. The birdlike aliens sniffed the air, and moved forward cautiously, keeping their plasma pistols half raised. Closing in on Fred's position, they clicked on their energy shields. The small blue domes solidified with a low hum.

Fred keyed his com channel to Red-Two twice. Her green light winked on, acknowledging his call for backup.

The Jackals suddenly snapped their gaze to the right, sniffing rapidly.

A fist sized rock whizzed in from the aliens' left. It slammed into the lead Jackal's chest, cracking it open. It squawked and fell to the ground in a pool of purple and red blood. Fred rushed forward, kicking the last alien in the side, making it drop the shield. On the ground, the Jackal reached for its pistol, as Fred planted his foot onto its skull, crushing its head.

The two Spartans stood over the dead bodies. Fred picked up one of the pistols and tossed it to Kelly, who caught it mid-air.

"Thanks, could use this against any Covie vehicles," she joked.

"Red-One," Will's voice crackled over the com. "I'm half a click ahead of you. You're gonna wanna see this."

"Wilco," Fred replied, "Red Team, hold position and wait for my position."

Five acknowledgement lights winked on.

Fred quickly but cautiously made his way to Will's position. The forest started to thin, with freshly fallen trees littering the landscape. The shade thinned and vanished as the forest disappeared. Ahead, Fred and Will could see the generator facility. All of the tree's surrounding it were destroyed; the wood charred or blasted to splinters.

There were dead bodies, too: thousands of Grunts, and hundreds of Jackals and Elites. The burned remains of Covenant Wraiths and Ghosts were spread out among the bodies. Of course, there were dead humans too. Four flaming Scorpion tanks, their turrets dozens of meters away, were joined by overturned Warthog's, their crews slumped against the chassis. A Banshee flier was jammed into a guard tower, its wings snapped off and on the battlefield below.

"Red Team, move up to my position."

Five Spartans joined Will and Fred at the forest edge.

"Contact ahead... looks like two Warthogs. Friendly," Will said, looking through his scope. The distinct whine of the Warthog's engine approached rapidly, and the Spartans left the forest. The generator complex was intact, unlike the once great forest. Concrete bunkers bristling with machine guns and cannons surrounded a low building.

The lead Warthog slowed about a hundred meters away from the Spartans, and two Marines jumped out. The gunner turned his machine gun to face the team.

"This is Spartan Red Team. We've been assigned to protect this facility," Fred said over the com.

The Marines in front nodded and waved his hand for them to approach.

Fred could see Marines coming out from the facility, picking through the dead of both sides for weapons, ammo, and anything useful.

When the two groups met each other, the Marine said, "Lieutenant Buckman, Charlie Company. When I asked for backup, I wasn't expecting Spartans!" His guard looked ecstatic.

"We can leave if you want to?" Vinh joked, pointing his thumb backwards.

Lieutenant Buckman laughed, and said, "No, thanks. You can stay."

Fred relaxed his grip on his assault rifle, and said, "What's the situation here?"

Lieutenant Buckman told his guard to take the Warthogs back to base, and then ushered for the Spartans to follow him.

"The Covenant attacked about three hours ago. Those cruisers have been dumping ground troops, and we got the brunt of them, I'd say. We started off with about a thousand men, under Colonel Lehman of the 234th Battalion, but he was killed. I'm in charge now. Lost about three quarters of our men during the battle," he explained, as the group passed a trio of medics uncovering a wounded Marine from an upside-down Warthog. "We had about twenty Warthogs and seven Scorpions. As you can see, we only have three tanks left, and about seven Hog's."

"How many attacked?" asked Kelly.

Buckman tittered, and then said, "At least three times what we had. We requested air support, and HIGHCOM panicked. They ordered to bomb everything within five hundred meters of the complex." He paused, watching two Marines carry one of their comrades back to the base. "Thank god most of us were able to get back in time."

"I can see it wiped out the Covenant," Isaac said.

"Mhm, killed about forty of us. Most of them died quickly though," Buckman said.

"Sir, the Covenant are going to attack again. They don't really take no for an answer," Will said.

The Spartans and much smaller Marine entered the complex, filled with battle-weary Marines. Mechanics worked on the vehicles, getting them ready for the next assault. "Oh, I know, Spartan. We're gonna hold them off again, and again, and again," Buckman said.

"How many non-combat personnel are on site?" asked Fred.

"About five hundred, mostly engineers. Thank god a lot of them know how to fix faulty brakes on a Warthog," the LT said.

"_Lieutenant Buckman, this is Chapman. We have Covenant dropships on the horizon. And it looks like a swarm of Banshees approaching on radar. I'm calling everyone up_," a voice came through on com.

"Roger that. We have Spartans on site, I'm gonna have them do their thing," Buckman replied.

"Who's that?" asked Anton.

"That was 2nd Lieutenant Chapman, my subordinate. Looks like they're back. Which one of you is in charge?" the Marine asked.

Fred stepped forward, and said, "I am. SPARTAN-104, or Red-One."

...

"Fire!"

Six Gauss cannons went off in rapid succession, and six Ghost vehicles exploded, taking its pilots with them. Fred stood on top of a large bunker, designated as the hospital, and watched as hundreds of Covenant ground troops emerged from the treeline to the south, led by Elites. The loud cracks of .50 caliber sniper rifles pierced the air, dropping many of the tall, bulky aliens. The few remaining trees snapped and hit the ground in pieces as heavy Wraith tanks hovered towards the base.

"_This is Chapman, Banshees incoming!"_

The Gauss cannons turned to the sky, and fired at the thirty approaching Covenant fighters, taking down four in the first salvo.

Fred leaped off of the bunker, joining the rest of Red Team. "We've got hundreds of X-ray's inbound. Let's go get them, Spartans!" he yelled.

The Spartans nodded, and then followed Fred to the exit of the base. Three Warthog's wheeled by, their gunners spinning up the machine guns and opening up when they spotted the enemy. Kelly ran forward, joining a group of Marines behind a sandbag wall. She took down six Grunts with her assault rifle, and then dropped an Elite with her sidearm.

Anton and Vinh tossed grenades at a cluster of advancing Covenant troops, killing a dozen.

The Wraith's started to fire, their giant purple balls killing Marines and a few Covenant.

Fred and Will charged the main Covenant force, gunning down multiple Elites, Grunts, and Jackals alike. An approaching Wraith fired a mortar at the duo, missing. Will ran up the front of the tank, and ripped open the driver's hatch, dropping a frag grenade into the driver's lap. The Spartan then leaped off of the tank onto a Jackal, crushing the creature by sheer weight. The tank erupted in a great ball of fire behind him. Fred weaved between the masses of Covenant, using his assault rifle to score perfect headshots on many aliens. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw an Elite Major with an energy sword lunge in for him. He rolled backwards as the massive extraterrestrial swung and missed. The Elite roared, its mandibles splitting. Fred unholstered his pistol, and fired three shots, barely pinging off of the shielding. The Elite laughed, and jumped at Fred, tackling him. On top of the Spartan, the Major was just about to finish off the human when a shotgun blast ripped through its chest. The alien looked down at its wound, and then fell off of the downed supersoldier, dead. Malcolm appeared in Fred's visor, holding out his hand.

Fred took it, bringing himself to his feet. Kelly was leading the other Spartans forward, slaughtering Covenant. The Banshees were either fleeing or destroyed, and the ground vehicles were being blown up by the superior human guns. But the Covenant were still pushing forward.

With Red Team regrouped, they all pushed together as one, dropping literally hundreds of Covenant.

Then, dozens more Wraith tanks appeared. No problem.

But then they heard it.

The human guns fell silent, and the Covenant stopped firing. The ground started to shake, and the trees started to fall.

"Scarab!" a Marine shouted.

A massive four legged monster of a vehicle appeared from the forest. It had a top rotating turret that had a green horizontal visor, and one massive gun on the front, between the two front legs. The body held dozens of ground troops, a few manning plasma cannons.

"_This is Buckman. All heavy forces, concentrate on that Scarab!_"

"Negative!" Fred shouted into the com. "This is Red-One. We've got it. Focus on the main force."

After a pause, Buckman said, "_Roger that, Red-One. All units, belay that order. Keep fighting the main force."_

"Who here has a rocket?" Fred asked when the Spartans got behind a destroyed Scorpion tank.

Will and Isaac raised their hands.

"Alright," Fred began. "I need you guys to aim for the joints on the legs; aim at the green lights. When the Scarab legs lock up, its gonna come down for a few minutes. In that time, Kelly and I are going to slip onboard while the rest of you kill the gunners. Got it?"

Six acknowledgement lights winked on.

The Spartans rushed out from behind the tank, running across the battlefield towards the walker. The Scarab fired at the facility, destroying two guard towers and then a Scorpion. Red Team got under the beast in a minute, and Will and Isaac were hard at work firing at the legs. Soon, the front left leg exploded, and the Scarab started beeping, and lowering towards the ground. The Spartans rushed out from under, and then Fred and Kelly readied to board. They jumped onto it, to be greeted by six Elites. Seconds later, six Elites were dead. Fred rolled a grenade out onto the top deck, killing three Grunts and a Jackal. The two went up, and dropped alien after alien. They watched as the plasma gunners were killed by fire from the Spartans on the ground. Kelly got to the power source first, attacking plastic explosives to it. Fred arrived just as the woman fished planting them, and he immediately leaped off of the platform. Kelly was soon after. Red Team was mostly regrouped, aside from Vinh.

Two Wraith tanks approached the Spartan, who was furthest from the team. He jumped onto one of them, firing his rifle into the pilot of it. Then, the other Wraith fired at it.

Vinh disappeared in an instant.

"Vinh!" cried Anton.

Red Team advanced on the pair of tanks. Anton jumped onto it, and ripped off the hatch. He pulled out the driver, and slammed him against the ground, impaling his knife into the aliens neck. The Scarab behind them erupted into a great ball of purple and blue flame, engulfing over a hundred Covenant in the explosion. The debris took out more of the aliens.

The Spartans destroyed both of the Wraith tanks, and then rejoined the battle. The Marines were taking heavy casualties, and many were falling back, towards the interior of the base. The Warthog's drew back, but took down many more Covenant as they retreated. The Scorpion tanks backed away, destroying Covenant vehicles.

"Looks like the Marines are falling back!" Will shouted.

"Yeah, we need to go link up!" Fred replied, backing up slowly.

Red Team drew back, and took up positions in the towers. The Marines pushed forward, gunning down hundreds of Covenant Grunts as they spilled into the complex.

"Hold the line, Spartans!" Kelly hollered, throwing a frag grenade and blowing up three Elites.

"_...One...in over...26...please respond,_" the radio crackled.

Fred dropped behind cover, and said, "This is Red One. Please repeat."

The radio cleared up, and then the voice came through, "_Oh thank god. This is Knife 26. We've linked up with the frigates _Grafton_ and _Saratoga_, we're inbound to your position, over."__  
_

"Roger that, Knife 26. Good to have you back. Request gun run's on everything outside of the complex, over. Repeat, everything outside of the base is yours," Fred replied.

"_Got it, Red One. The frigates have ODST's onboard and ready to go. They'll drop in after our run, over,"_ Knife 26 said.

Seven black dots appeared on the horizon, moving fast. The shapes of Longsword fighters took shape, and the roar of their cannons opened up on the legions of Covenant outside of the base. Rockets left their pods, and after the smoke cleared, there was nearly nothing left. More Covenant spilled out of the forest, but much slower. The Longsword's pulled up into the atmosphere, and then two large UNSC frigates sped into the space above the battlefield.

Small pods dropped down, dozens of them, and they slammed down into the charred ground. Coinciding with that were four gigantic slugs from the Orbital Stations piercing through the four Covenant cruisers nearby.

Fred led the charge, jumping off of the tower, Kelly and Will right behind him.

Within minutes, the Covenant were in a rout, tripping over each other to get into the forest. It was pointless, as Shortsword bombers were doing strikes on the woods, combined with the 50mm guns from the heavy frigates.

Red Team stood in the field, watching the woods burn. The ODST's spread out, searching for anything useful. The Spartan's armor was battered, and they were all exhausted. Most of them had been fighting for the past day straight, and now fought a massive battle and lost a Spartan; the first one to be lost on Reach.

"We must search for Vinh. He could still be alive!" Anton said frantically, starting to go look for his fallen friend.

Kelly followed him, and said, "Anton, there's no way he could have survived that. We all saw it. Believe me, we're all shaken, but we must move on. We must."

Anton looked at the ground, and even through the thick armor, all could tell he was hurt.

He turned around and nodded.

Fred strode over to him, and lay his hand on Anton's shoulder, shaking it.

"Let's move out."


End file.
